A New Story
by EgyptianSoul.88
Summary: Rain is just a normal teenager until her and her friend Anna are thrust into another world that they never knew existed. Lessons are learned, an ancient love is found again, and danger is around every corner. Not good at summaries, enjoy! Yami Bakura/OC
1. Chapter 1

I do not own I do not own I do not own!!! If I did I'd be rich! No flames please, but I will take good advice. -grins- haven't done this in a while, so I'm a little rusty but please be patient! I'm trying! Really!

Chapter 1. What?

Rain sighed, looking out the window of her best friend's room.

" God Anna, look at it, it's just pouring out there!"

"Yeah? Well, they said it was supposed to be a pretty bad storm. At least we're not outside, right?" Anna said with a shrug, before grinning, "We get to be snug and warm, while we get to watch my rented Yu-gi-oh episodes...at least until the power goes out." She gave the TV in the room a look, then the lamp, as if daring the power to go out. Rain giggled, shaking her head at her friend, her blue eyes twinkling.

"Don't even say that, Now I'll blame you if it _does _go out."

The two of them had decided to have a sleepover that night, due to both their parents being out of town, they didn't want to be alone in a big storm so they chose to camp it out together, little did they know this night would change both their lives completely. The girls made popcorn and spent the next two hours watching their favourite series. In between episodes, they quizzed each other on what they would do if they were in the show themselves.

"Who would be your biggest crush?" Anna asked, running her fingers through her wavy, currently reddish brown locks. When Rain made a face Anna smirked,

"come on, everyone has to have a love interest. I'll tell you what mine would be."

Rain laughed at that, "I already _know_ what your's would be. Mr. Ice cube Kaiba."

Anna frowned, "He's not an Ice cube, he's just very misunderstood."

" Ok, well... I guess my love interest would be Yami Bakura. Can you imagine that? They should have made someone crush on him, just to see what would happen!"

Anna rolled her eyes " Of course you would crush on the most evil, longest lasting villain of the show. What's with you and liking the bad guys? He'd be the type to send anyone who actually liked him to the shadow realm. Wierdo..." Anna cocked her head to the side, Rain smiled at her,

" Can't help it if the bad guys turn out to be eye candy. Malik would be a good one for a cartoon me to crush on too, don't you think?"

Yeah, but he's not really a bad guy, his psycho other half is."

"True true, my friend." They both sat quietly for a moment, then started giggling psychotically, "Do you think I would be a bad guy or a good guy?" Rain asked, taking a sip of her Coke.

"I think you would be a good guy that secretly is also a bad guy." Anna answered, Rain stared at her,

"That makes....Absolutely no sense...I can't be both."

"You'd find a way." Suddenly there was a huge crash, then the lights flickered once and went out. Anna gave a little squeak, Rain sighed.

" Your fault. Do you have a flashlight somewhere around here Anna?" Lightning flashed once, lighting up the room brightly. Rain saw what she was looking for near the bed, "Never mind." After fumbling for a moment, Rain turned on the flashlight, shining it on Anna's face,

"Anna? What's wrong? I know you don't like the storm but--" Rain stopped when Anna grabbed her arm and pointed behind her, at the wall.

"Rain, _look_!" Anna finally had her voice again, Rain stared at the wall, the paint seemed to be glowing...it looked almost liquid. She stood and took a step towards it. Yes, the paint seemed to be spinning like a whirlpool.

"Uh...What the hell is wrong with your wall?"

" How the hell should I know? Stay back, what if it sucks you up?"

" Maybe this is a dream. Maybe if I went in it would just take me to the next room."

Anna rolled her eyes, the light from the wall was bright enough now that they didn't need the flashlight. " This is no dream Rain, we wouldn't be having the same dream. I think maybe something happened with the lightning, it did strike close considering how loud the sound was...maybe it caused something weird to happen. I think we should call the police or something."

Rain stared at her friend, one slender brow arched, "Call the police? What are they going to do? Arrest your wall? The minute you mention that your bedroom wall has turned into a glowing whirlpool of god knows what they'll laugh at you then tell you the number for the nearest loony bin. Don't look at me like that, you know it's true."

Anna threw her hands up in a gesture of irritated defeat, "Fine. What do you suggest we do then?"

"I think..." Rain stared at the whirlpool thoughtfully. "I think we should go through it."

"What?!" Anna looked at Rain as though she'd lost her mind. "Are you insane? You don't even know what it _is_!"

"It's a portal, can't think of anything else it _would_ be. I think it's here because we are supposed to go through it. Who knows, it could be fun!" Rain sighed as Anna shook her head furiously.

"You've always wanted to be on an adventure, and I'm not much of an adventurer. I don't think we should even touch that thing. I don't care what your gut tells you. Even if it took us somewhere really cool, we could die! The thing could deposit us into a- a pit of lions or something!"

Rain smirked, "A pit of lions?" She shook her head, "Fine, you stay here then. I'll go alone. I'll prove it's not scary." she started towards the portal then stopped, grabbing her bag with her overnight clothes and other random stuff in it. She looked through it for a moment, then smiling, Rain pulled out a thin gold chain with a small pendant hanging on it. Anna stared as she put it around her neck.

"Where'd you get the pretty necklace?"

" My Grandma gave it to me after she went on a trip to Egypt. She said she'd known I would love it so she picked it up at one of those outdoor markets. She thinks it's really old, I figure I could use it's good luck."

" I really don't want you to go through there." Anna jerked her head towards the portal, as Rain had called it.

" Come with me then."

Anna sighed, then grabbed a purse and stuffed a few articles of clothing into it, along with a bunch of other things. A rope -god knows why she had a rope lying around her room- a small pocket knife, her flashlight, and some random jewellery, along with half the pens and some paper from her desk.

Rain grinned, "You done?"

"Yeah." Anna gave Rain a look, "You're crazy, you know that right?"

Laughing, Rain grabbed her best friend's hand. "You ready?" Then, before waiting for the answer she pulled them both into the portal. For a moment they were surrounded by light, then it went black and there was a long sensation of falling, images passed them, too fast to really see. Rain couldn't breathe, She could hear Anna screaming, could feel her hand gripping hers, but couldn't see her anywhere. They fell for what felt like forever, then finally hit something solid. Rain shuddered, her stomach rolling. She blinked a number of times, trying to stop her head from spinning, before examining the surroundings. They were on a sidewalk, so at least they were somewhere with civilization. Rain breathed an inward sigh of relief. She looked at Anna, who was sitting down on the cement still looking very dizzy. Rain squatted down beside her friend.

"Just take a few breaths and close your eyes, it should make the dizzy feeling go away."

Anna followed Rain's instructions, grumbling the whole time. "That is the last time I follow you through a freaky portal thingy. God, that was horrible. Where are we?"

Rain smiled, "I'm actually not sure. We are on a sidewalk, it's not stormy at all here. The sky is actually very clear. The sun seems to have just set, judging by how light the sky still is. There's something...weird about this place though. I just can't figure out what it is."

Anna opened her eyes, looked around, then stared at Rain with wide eyes "I think I know what's up."

"Huh? What?"

"Look around. Don't you recognize anything? I can't believe you can't tell where we are!"

Rain looked, glancing around at all the houses, she noticed a shop down the street. Squinted, then very promptly fell over. " Oh My God! I-Is that what I think it is?"

"The Kame game shop. Yep. We, my friend, are in Domino city."

"Oh my...How are you so calm!?....This is _crazy_! This place doesn't exist!"

" ...Rain, obviously it _does_ exist if we're here."

Rain glared at her, "Oh shut up, you know what I meant." Anna grinned at her.

" Well, I figure we won't be able to get home any time soon so we might as well meet the locals...uh...You want to get off the ground? How long are you going to lay on the sidewalk?"

"This is so freaking weird....." Rain grumbled, standing up and dusting herself off, "How do we meet the 'locals' as you call them. We can't possibly tell them that we know everything about them or why. We also need to figure out 'when' in the series we ended up. I mean, we could be in danger, depending on that....oh shit." Rain paled slightly, staring at something beyond her friend, " We should start walking Anna. Now."

" What? What's wrong? Rain?" Anna started to look behind them to see what Rain had seen, but Rain grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "Wha-"

" Bakura. He's _here_, walking this way. Not Ryo, his dark half. I can tell, you know how his hair goes nuts... I'm pretty sure he sensed us when we came here, as I'm assuming that portal thing was magical and he senses stuff like that, right? Do you want to stick around to see what he wants?" Rain could practically taste the spirit's presence just by the way he strode towards them with an air of purpose. She forced herself not to let her gaze linger on him, as the fan girl in her desperately wanted to stare.

"...Oh...shit. We aren't having a very lucky start with this are we..." Anna whispered back, glancing behind them now. It was indeed Bakura, and he was following them. The sennen ring was glowing slightly on him chest. She gave a strained grin, despite the circumstances. "Don't you have a crush on him? Maybe you can make nice and somehow make him go away?"

Rain shot her an exasperated look, " Shut up Anna." She sighed then, "I suppose I should stop and see if he means us harm, we obviously won't be able to get away considering who he is. Best to just get this over with."

"What?!" Anna shivered. "But we just got here! I don't want to end up in the shadow realm!"

Rain rolled her eyes, "_I'm_ going to talk to him..._You_ are going to the Kame game shop to find the pharoah...Just keep walking, I'll meet you there. Tell him or Yugi the truth. They should understand. Just don't look threatening, ok? We need his trust if we plan to not end up dead or something like that, Or end up with nowhere to stay...I don't want to sleep on a park bench or something tonight."

"What?!" Rain rolled her eyes at Anna's expression, knowing that she probably sounded extra pessimistic and more than slightly paranoid. She couldn't help it, she just had this bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Part of her wished that they had never gone through that whirlpool.

"Go! Seriously, move it Anna, I'll be fine, I know what I'm doing. Trust me... I think I can handle this." Rain smirked slightly, "Besides, if I end up in the shadow realm or something the pharaoh will save me...he's good at saving people remember?"

"...Alright. But at least _try _not to piss Bakura off enough to get sent to the shadow realm in the first place." Anna ran in the direction of the game shop, while Rain turned to face the white haired phantom of a man who was slowly walking towards her, Rain saw him pause, looking after Anna, she prayed that he would stay on his present course. Their eyes met, and Rain gasped slightly. She felt a whirlwind of emotions fly through her, none of them making any sense...His eyes were dark and she felt pain in her heart as she noticed the hatred with which he was looking at her. The strange sensations were making her head spin and she had to look away for a moment to gather her thoughts. it was making her head spin....when she looked at him again he was standing a few feet away, staring at her with a strange look on his face, but before she had a chance to dissect it he closed the distance between them, stopping about a foot away, Rain took a step back. She didn't like people invading her space. She broke the eye contact as well, feeling more than a little unnerved. He smirked. Bad sign.

" Hello Raya--" He stopped for a moment, appearing to a have a brief mental struggle, that strange expression flew across his face again but was gone in an instant, "What are you doing here girl?" He asked roughly. Rain tried and failed to stop the shiver from running up her spine at the sound of his voice. Too bad he had to have that dark, seductively evil voice...-ok, snap out of it Rain, He's probably going to send you to the shadow realm just for being here.- Rain sighed, forcing herself to look into those red tinged brown eyes of his. She had to at least look like she had it all together. What had he been about to call her? Raya? She shook it from her mind, was probably just a slip of the tongue.

"I- Um..."

He looked relatively amused, "Did you swallow your tongue on your way here?"

"No... I just couldn't think of an answer to your question."

"It really Isn't that hard." His eyes seemed to be laughing at her. "You came from another realm, I could sense that much. Why and how is what I'd like to know."

" I don't know. I came through an incredibly random portal, had no idea I would end up here. Really." Rain shivered as he stepped closer to her again. Bakura stared at her for a moment, then tilted his head back and laughed. -Wow, he is so much scarier in person than on TV...- She frowned at the thought.

"There is no such this as random. You don't even know why you're here, Pathetic girl."

"I'm _not_ pathetic you stupid asshole." Rain regretted saying anything, because as soon as the words left her mouth any hint of laughter left the tomb robber's face. He looked her over for a moment, making Rain feel relatively self conscious. His eyes stopped at the small Egyptian ankh pendant her grandmother had given her. Rain stood very still as he lifted his hand up to the ankh, touching it softly.

"You're right. You're just _very _naive. I believe had you not gone through that portal you would have ended up here anyway, you were meant to come here you know. You and your little friend, the gods willed it, you'll come to understand that much in time...Also," He smirked evilly, "You'll find you'll stay alive longer if you don't insult me again."

Rain was dumbstruck, _meant _to come? Like destiny? Good lord...And how would _he _know? And why would _he_ be telling her this? She'd understand if Yami told her something like that, but the _tomb robber_?! On that note, why would destiny or whatever even want her here? She was a normal girl, from a very normal place. She realized that Bakura had turned to walk away. "Hey! Wait, Bakura!" She realized her mistake the moment she said his name, he turned to her, eyes narrowed slightly.

"How do you know my name?"

"I-the place I'm from...this place, it was a story. I never knew it existed...but I know everyone's names, I know the story....I know who you are. I thought you would figure that out right away. I would have just greeted you like a normal person if I didn't know anything about you." Rain could feel him appraising her. Judging her words with his eyes.

"Fine... I'll believe your babbling for now...know this. You have a strong magic within you. I'm giving you this chance to learn more about it yourself before I take it from you, I won't wait forever though so learn fast my dear."

"Uh...Why are you even giving me a chance then? Wouldn't it just make more sense to do that now, when I have no idea what the hell you're talking about?" Rain mentally cursed her mouth. Why couldn't she just shut up? Smirking, Bakura walked back to her, placing his hand on the small of her back and pulling her forward, he bent slightly so his mouth was inches from her ear. Rain leaned away, completely taken by surprise

"There would be no challenge in that, darling. I want a challenge from you. Depending on how you perform, maybe I'll let you live after I take your magic." His whisper made Rain shiver. He made her feel an odd mixture of intense fear and intense desire...she was getting a feeling that he knew it too...Bastard...

He leaned away again, the smirk still on his face. He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. "Your hair, it's always been the colour of gold...long and straight...I do hope you keep it that way....I'll be watching you..." With that, he turned and walked away.

"Wow...can't believe he just did that....actually, can't really understand how I still have my soul..." Rain ran a hand through her hair, no one had ever compared it to gold before, that was new. Well, he _was_ an ancient Egyptian, perhaps he just liked blonde hair. Rain suddenly realized he'd complimented her...she pondered for a moment, then shook her head. Why was she even dwelling on the comment? -Frickin weird-assed ancient Egyptian evil king of thieves guy...he was just trying to mess with me I think...I hope...- She shuddered. "Watching me...good lord...."

(A/N I gave Bakura the British voice from the English version. I couldn't help myself. I'm probably the only person on earth that likes it. -grins-)

Rain eventually made her way to the kame games shop, the lights were on. Good, that meant Anna had gotten there ok. She knocked on the door, then rang the bell. Yugi came to the door...no...Rain looked a little harder, no, this was the pharaoh. His eye's were a reddish colour and yugi's were purple. Rain took a small moment to ponder how no one seemed to notice the differences when he was in control.

"Rain I presume?" He looked her up and down, before letting her in.

"Um...did Anna tell you about us?"

"She did." They stood there for a moment in silence, before the pharaoh spoke again, "She also told me that you were confronting Bakura as we spoke. The poor girl was out of her mind with worry. Are you alright?"

Rain smiled, "I'm fine, is Anna ok?"

"Yes. She's upstairs in the living room. I suppose we'll talk more there."

"Ok...uh...what do you want me to call you?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

" Well, do I call you Pharaoh? Yami? What should I call you?"

" Yugi calls me Yami, so does everyone else." He seemed surprised that Rain had noticed who he was.

" Alright."

"ok."

The two of them walked upstairs quietly, when Rain turned into the living room she was nearly knocked over by Anna.

"Oh my god! I so thought he killed you or something! You have to tell me what happened!!! Rain, I'm so glad he didn't do anything to you! How did you manage to get away from him!? I--"

"Whoa, Anna. Calm down buddy. Deep breaths." Rain had to fight back a smile. She looked at Yami, he raised an eyebrow, she rolled her eyes slightly. It took a moment for Anna to settle down, Yami gave Rain permission to make some tea, so after a few minutes the three of them were all sitting around the table in the living room, drinking the freshly made chamomile lemon tea Rain had found in the cupboard. Rain was ready to talk, she looked at Anna.

"Ok, one question at a time, ok? First of all, Bakura, while he did scare the hell out of me, didn't hurt me. He just promised to later."

"What?"

"Well, it was weird...he said whether that portal had brought us here or not, we would have ended up here anyway. Apparently it was fate, according to him."

"I have a feeling he was correct in this Rain. Everything happens for a reason, we just have to find that reason now."

Rain nodded, "Well, we had quite a conversation. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of personal space, which irritated the hell out of me. You know how I am right?"

Anna nodded, "Yeah. That's weird though, I always thought Bakura liked to keep a good distance from everything and everyone."

"Maybe he doesn't see me as a big enough threat yet."

They both looked at her, "Yet?" They echoed, Rain sighed.

"Well, he said more...he said that I have some sort of power that he wants...he said he would give me time to learn about it myself, but wouldn't wait long."

"Why would he wait and let you learn about it if he wants it so bad? Wouldn't that give you a chance to fight him? Why didn't he take it right then and there and be done with it?" Anna pondered out loud, a look disgust crossed the pharaoh's face. He was angry, Rain could tell from the way he was sitting.

"He wants a challenge. He doesn't want an easy prize." Rain nodded,

"That's what he told me. I asked why he didn't just act then, and he told me that it wouldn't be a challenge...he said if I was good enough, he may let me live after he takes this power he seems to think I have. I don't plan to let him even get close to that. In all honesty I really don't think he wants to actually kill me though."

"What makes you think that?" Yami asked quietly. Rain blushed slightly,

"Just a hunch of sorts... he said he _might_ let me live." She shrugged, "probably just me being hopeful though. I really don't want to die."

"I won't let that happen." He said it with such conviction that Rain was taken aback for a moment, they had only met moments ago and he already cared for her well being. Rain wished there were more people in the world like that. She closed her eyes, the worry evident on her face as she spoke, voicing a new but rather frightening thought,

"I just...What if he's wrong and I don't have this power he was talking about."

Yami shook his head, he was eyeing Rain's necklace, "Bakura wasn't wrong about that. Anyone with links to the sennen items will be able to sense the power radiating off you. It's not subtle, that's for sure. That necklace, where did you get it?"

"My grandma gave it to me, she got it from a street vendor in Egypt a little while ago...back in my realm or whatever of course."

"It has some sort of energy to it...I think it may be a conduit to make your power easier to control...and likely stronger...but we won't know until you actually use your power. Don't take it off, it should give you some protection...it can probably be used to protect you as well, there's a charm on it."

Rain sighed, holding her ankh pendant for a moment, so it was special, and apparently so was she. How did it have a charm? There was no magic in her realm! Unless...maybe magical things were only awakened in magical places? That seemed to make sense the more she pondered it. She had a thought after a moment,

"When is this? Before after or during--"

"It's during battle city Rain, before the finals." Anna said helpfully, "Before the leader of the ghouls comes."

Rain sighed..."Shit..."

Yami looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you ok?"

" I guess...It's just, If Bakura wants whatever the hell it is that I have, then _he_ probably will too."

"You have a point." Anna said, looking exhausted. Yami looked between the two of them,

"We need to go to the museum tomorrow, maybe Ishizu can help you two. She can see the past and future, so maybe she'll see something about you."

"You're right Yami, thanks...You don't mind if we camp out in here do you?"

"Yugi won't mind." He left for a moment and returned, arms piled high with pillows and thick blankets. "So, I'm heading to bed so yugi can sleep properly, if you need anything, his room's right down the hall.

"Thank you." Both girls said in unison, both curling up in the makeshift bed. After he'd left the room Anna spoke,

"Rain, I know you weren't saying everything about that encounter with Bakura. What else happened?"

"He just acted weird, that's all. Doesn't help that I love his voice...He was driving me nuts. I'm absolutely terrified of him but I can't help being attracted to him...I don't want to be....he knows it too, I can tell. How can one person do so much to me without even really doing anything? I shouldn't want anything to do with him, he's the frickin _bad_ guy." Rain groaned into the pillow, Anna gave a small laugh.

"He's the ultimate bad guy. Hell, you've always liked bad boys. It's very freaky actually. I'm sure it's a sort of faze. Next time you see him, I'm sure you'll feel the proper fear and hatred."

Rain stared at her friend for a moment, then smiled, "I guess...I don't think I can hate him though, don't you kind of feel _sorry_ for him?"

Anna shook her head slightly, she was starting to drift to sleep. "Not really Rain...I don't think you have it in you to truly hate something anyway...you're too nice."

Rain smiled. "Thanks. 'night."

"Night..."

It didn't take long for Rain to fall asleep, she abandoned herself to the peace and silence of a sleep with no dreams.

Alright, review!!! I'll try to make things exciting, Promise!


	2. Chapter 2

_EgyptianSoul.88: Alright! Getting on with the plot! Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, wish I did, but it will never happen…-cries-_

_Bakura: Quit whining woman! Just get on with the bloody story before I send you to the shadow realm!_

_EgyptianSoul.88: -glare- What did you just say to me?! -Holds up writer's hammer of doom-_

_Bakura: -Backs away slowly- …N-nothing!_

_EgyptianSoul.88: Oh good, that means I don't have to turn you into a fluffy pile of romantic sap. -Smiles psychotically-_

_Bakura: -sigh-…Ok people, Read and Review or I will--_

_Egyptiansoul.88: -Holds up hammer-_

_Bakura: Fine! Please_ Read and Review, I promise I won't kill anyone…

Chapter 2: Flashes.

Rain woke early the next morning, for a moment she didn't remember where she was, then it all came back to her. The portal, ending up in Domino of all places, magic....and Bakura. She sat up, looking around. Anna was gone. She shrugged to herself and found her way to the bathroom with her bag. She got changed quickly and washed her face then Rain heard the sounds of someone bustling about in the kitchen, she wandered to the adjacent room to find Yugi's grandpa hovering over the stove.

"Hi." He jumped at her voice, turning around after a moment to greet her with a welcoming smile.

"Why hello there! Yugi told me about you and your friend. It's too bad that you lost your home, but you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you need to get back on your feet. Would you like some French toast?"

Rain smiled at the old man, but shook her head. She was glad that Yugi had come up with a good reason for them being there, she wouldn't have been able to think of something believable. "Um, sorry I'm not really hungry...Do you know where my friend went?"

"She went downstairs, she's helping Yugi open the shop."

"Ah, thanks." Rain went downstairs, entering the shop to find Anna, Yugi, and a few of his friends already there. Plus someone Rain figured was an employee. She surveyed the faces as she came down the last step, there was Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda. Anna saw her first, running over and grabbing her arm dragging her over to the rest.

"Hey Rain, you ready to go to the museum today? Yugi and I just finished filling these three in one our situation. Well, for the most part." She whispered the last part. Rain smiled at the group.

"Hey. I'm Rain." She spoke quietly, Anzu shook her hand.

"Hey Rain. Apparently you know our names already, so I guess there's no need to introduce ourselves. Weird to hear that you thought we weren't real..."

"Sorry about that. Heh." Anzu smiled,

"Not your fault. Now you know we exist."

"Heh, Yeah."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Jounouchi cleared his throat.

"No point in talking about how weird this all is. We might as well start heading for the museum, the bus is coming soon."

"Yeah, I'm just a little shy, we should be all getting along fine soon." Rain said with a small smile on her lips, Anna rolled her eyes.

"C'mon. Lets go." They all left a moment later after Yugi had gone upstairs to tell his grandpa that they were going out. They got to the bus stop just in time.

On the ride to the museum Rain thought about what Bakura had said. She wondered what she would learn from Ishizu, hopefully something about this power she apparently had. -I don't think I have any power, I'm just a normal girl, who just got stuck in a very weird world. Fate has nothing to do with it. I'm going to die here, because Bakura will find out that he only imagined that I had powers. The power that he and the pharaoh sensed was probably coming from that portal thing. I wonder what caused it anyway? I bet Anna's right about the lightning. Maybe some weird thing involving physics happened and it's not magic at all.- Rain stopped her mental ponderings when Anzu poked her in the shoulder. They were at the museum, Rain didn't think it would be such a short trip. As they walked into the museum they all saw Ishizu already waiting in the main entrance. Obviously she was expecting the visit. She bowed as they came before her, then smiled at Rain and Anna.

"Hello. I am Ishizu. You've come here wanting some answers, correct?"

"Yes." Anna answered, "We weren't seriously fated to come here were we?"

" You were meant to come here since the days you both were born. In fact, I have seen far more than that. Someone separated your souls from this world long ago."

"What's that mean?" Honda spoke up, Anzu gave him a look, before turning to Ishizu.

"Is it ok if we explore the museum? You have some new exhibits here right?" At Ishizu's nod, Anzu dragged Jou and Honda away. Rain smiled, knowing that Anzu wanted her and Anna to have this talk a little more privately. Ishizu began to walk in the other direction, beckoning to Anna, Yugi, and Rain to follow. They stopped in front of the familiar Egyptian exhibit.

"Rain, if we begin talking about your past memories may begin to surface later."

"What? Past? You aren't serious..."

Ishizu smiled softly. "I am. Your souls, both of you were in this realm in the pharaoh's time. The only reason you ended up re-incarnating in your realm was because of what is known as the Power of the Balance. No one really knows what exactly it is, that was merely the name given. It always manifests differently. I believe that someone sent you both away so that no one could use the power for evil."

"But I don't have any power." Anna spoke up, Ishizu smiled,

"You are the protector...you were sent with the power to protect it's holder...that's why you were both incarnated at the same time."

"Ok, how do you know about the power?"

" It was noted briefly in one of many scrolls I have looked at in my career. Also, I've learned through what I've seen."

"What exactly is it you saw about us?" Anna asked, her growing impatience beginning to show.

" I'll show you what I can."

" Show us?"

Suddenly the entire room flashed, then disappeared. After a moment of darkness Rain suddenly found herself hovering inside what looked like an Egyptian temple of some sort. She noticed a lone figure kneeling before a statue of a god, the figure had long flowing blonde hair and as the girl began to speak Rain realized with a start it was her. Or, who she used to be. -oh dear, better not even think about that...too weird for me...- Rain listened,

"Oh Ra, Oh gods, Why do you punish me so...I beg that you relieve me of this burden...It causes nothing but pain and harm to other..." The girl seemed distraught, Rain wanted to hug her. "I- I can't handle it..I just want this crazy revenge thing of his to go away. My brother didn't do it, it was father and he's dead! Gods, why can't Bakura just forgive...then we could be happy, Ra, he's not as bad as everyone believes, if he could let go of his hatred then he would be ok! I've seen what he _can_ be, but his anger has twisted him, and now he wants the power again and I don't want to--"

"Rayana. What are you doing here?" Rain recognized the voice, it was Kaiba...or Seto...or Set...whatever the hell he was called back in the day. He was standing in the entrance of the temple with someone who looked a lot like Anna. But with very long brown hair. Rayana turned towards them, she looked very sad.

"I-I was praying."

"You shouldn't go anywhere without an escort princess. You know that."

Rain's eyes widened in surprise. -Princess? Cool. I was royalty. Ok focus Rain. Something I'm supposed to see is happening and I should pay attention. Which means I should stop talking to myself. Right...-

Rayana sighed, "You think I can't take care of myself? You really think I need an escort Seto? Adina, what do you think?" When the girl beside priest Seto didn't give an answer Rayana's hands began to glow. She lifted a hand and a small flame danced across her palm. "I have the elements within me. The strongest magic, remember?"

" All but one Rayana." Seto responded quietly, "You need an escort because the thief king has threatened to take you from us again. We can't allow that. I know you are extraordinarily powerful, but you must remember he's found out how to bind your powers and plans to take them as his own."

Rayana frowned at him, "He has power over the darkness, so what? Let him take me, darkness is nothing I can't handle." Her voice shook slightly.

Seto and Adina both groaned, Adina shook her head.

"That mixed with what he already has is an extremely formidable combination. You know darkness and light are the two most powerful elements. You'd be able to defeat him on your own, but everyone knows that your own feelings would get in the way and you wouldn't be able to do it."

Rayana growled, her blue eyes turning icy. There was a surge of power, and the temple grew cold.

" Say that again and friend or not, I'll have your tongue cut out. I feel nothing but contempt for that bastard."

"Wow Rain, past life you is kind of scary." Rain jumped, looking beside her she found Anna.

"When did you get here?"

"Been here the whole time. Was just trying to be quiet to hear what's going on."

"...Oh."

They both turned back to see Seto and Adina leaving the temple. Rayana collapsed to the floor after they were out of sight, her icy exterior fading as tears crept out of her eyes.

"Damn him..." She whispered, sobbing. "They're right though...I could never kill him. I still love him far too much... even if he hates me now..."

The surroundings faded to darkness and suddenly Rain and Anna were back in the museum. It had only been a moment, but it had felt like a good hour. Rain couldn't believe what she'd heard, and hoped to god she'd heard wrong. Maybe they were talking about a different thief king? -No, they were talking about Bakura. So if Rayana loved him, how did he feel about her? How did they even meet? Or did they meet at all? Maybe it was unrequited. I don't understand...hmm, well. He's not dead, so she never got around to killing him. Why wasn't she in the plot in my world? Maybe because I was there? I'm too full of questions now. Sheesh...-

"Did you see what we saw?" Anna was asking Yugi...no, it was Yami now. He nodded, looking at Rain with a very odd expression.

" Rain. Maybe you can try to do what she did. If it manifested as the elements for her, you should be the same. You're the same person after all."

" I'll give it a try when we get back to your house." Rain muttered, looking at Anna. "What do you think your role in all this is...well, other than the whole protection thing...though I'm not sure how you would protect me..."

Anna shrugged, then looked at Ishizu, "Any ideas?"

"You are her best friend and confidant. Along with being a great protector, though not of a magic kind. There are many ways to protect someone, you can protect the heart, the soul, the mind...and more...you'll figure it out in time Anna. I don't know any more than that." She turned to Rain, "I wish you luck Rain." Ishizu bowed to Yami, then her before she left the room. Rain stared after her for a moment, then a thought occurred to her.

"Hey Yami, if I was a princess I wonder if you were my brother?"

He smiled, "From the looks of things, I think you were." A dark look crossed his features, "You loved Bakura. I wonder how that came about?" Rain blushed, shivering slightly.

"I'm sure history won't repeat itself. Well, I hope not anyway."

"I'm with you on that one. If you ever threaten to cut off my tongue I'll punch you." Anna remarked, Rain laughed and they were joined by Anzu, Honda, and Jou after a few minutes.

"Hey guys! Find out anything good?" Anzu asked brightly, Rain smiled,

"Well, apparently I may be the Pharaoh's sister. And I had some crazy assed powers."

"Cool." Jou grinned.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The group had split up about an hour later, all having gone to Yugi's house for a late lunch. After Rain, Anna, and Yami were left alone (Well, yugi was watching too but only Yami could see him.) attention turned on to Rain's powers.

"ok, try fire."

"ok." Rain sighed, then closed her eyes. She imagined warmth, pictured the fire dancing in Rayana's hand. She heard Anna gasp, and opened her eyes to find her right hand was glowing slightly, she focused on that hand and after a few minutes a tiny flame appeared, but sputtered after a moment and died. "Huh. Well, I sorta got it to work."

"That was excellent for a first try. Keep practicing and I'm sure it will get easier." Yami said with very un-Yami like enthusiasm.

"I'm gonna try water." Rain kept her eyes open this time, holding her hands in front of her she managed to form what looked like a small bubble between them, how it wasn't just falling to the ground and splashing everywhere was a mystery but Rain figured the laws of physics didn't seem to apply to magic. " Ok, well...this is easier than fire. Rain walked away and put her magical ball of water in the sink, as soon as she let go of it the thing acted like water should and dropped with a splash.

"You should take a break Rain, or the magic will knock you out. You aren't used to it, but it wears on you. I can tell you are already tired." Yami spoke about an hour later, after watching Rain experiment with water, fire, earth, and air. The only one Rain didn't try was light. She figured she'd try it another time when more sure about herself.

` "Rain, I'm going to go see if I can find a few dualists, would you like to come along?" He asked, strapping on his duel disk. Rain shook her head,

"No, I think I'm going to have a nap, then maybe take a walk. Anna?"

"I'll go! It'll be cool to see a duel first hand with all those holograms and stuff."

Rain smiled and waved when the two of them left, then curled up on the couch, she was asleep within minutes.

Anna enjoyed watching Yami duel his opponents, she stood and cheered with the rest of his friends. When he won against the first dark hunter she watched and shuddered a little when Malik's puppet spoke. To her surprise he looked directly at her after addressing the pharaoh.

" Tell your friend my master is looking foreword to meeting her."

"What?" Anna stared, shocked, "How the hell do you know--"

" We are _always_ watching." And before Anna or anyone else could say another word the sennen symbol blazed on his forehead as his soul was banished to the shadow realm. Yami cast a worried look in Anna's direction,

" It seems _everyone_ is after you two."

Anna shrugged, " Or at least after Rain...I should be ok, right?"

" Just be careful. We don't know what he wants with either of you."

...........................................Time Warp, A week later................................................................

Things had been going well for Rain over the past week, she hadn't seen any sign of Bakura, and only two minor threats from Malik...Judging by the way things were going, Rain and Anna had figured out that Malik should be in Domino that day. They both tried to stay out of the way where the duelling tournament was concerned...at least until the finals. What was the point of watching all the battles if they already knew the outcome? This was the logic both the girls would stick by every time they were asked to go see a duel. Well, unless Kaiba would be there. Anna had to go anywhere he was...from what Rain had gathered he'd actually been half decent to Anna when they had met at one of Yami's duels. Yami was happy with Rain's progress on the magical side of things as well, she was apparently a fast learner because she was now not only conjuring the elements, but controlling them extraordinarily well too. She was now working on her strength, as she still hadn't managed to conjure Light, even though she'd speedily mastered all of the others. Anna couldn't understand it, so they both went for a walk together for some fresh air to fuel their minds...and figured they would stop by the nearest coffee shop for an energy boost. Rain breathed in deeply as they walked along the sidewalk in the direction of down town Domino, they saw plenty of duellists duking it out as they passed by each street, it made Rain laugh, which caused Anna to question her friend's sanity for a moment.

"I'm not crazy Anna, but look around. There's holographic monsters everywhere! Don't you find it at least a little odd?"

"Yeah, I guess...Oh, lookie!" Rain looked where Anna was pointing and rolled her eyes.

"It's just the Kaiba brothers, they're probably just wandering around making sure no one's cheating. Hey!" Rain squeaked as Anna grabbed her arm and dragged her over to them, Kaiba glanced over at her with a look of disdain looking every bit the ice cube Rain always called him.

"Hey Kaiba! How's it going?" Rain looked at Anna like she'd lost her mind, even never having met him, Rain knew no one dared be so at ease around him due to his shooting down of anyone who tried to befriend him, but to her Rain actually saw a tiny smile. Yes, a Smile, cross his face when he saw Anna. But it was only there for an instant. _Something_ was up here...

"Anna, I see you aren't with Yugi and the rest of his cheerleaders. Have you risen above that or are you just taking a break?"

Anna's face went scarlet, "I'd be cheering you on if you asked me..." She grumbled quietly, Rain couldn't help but laugh, which earned her glares from all sides. Kaiba smirked, "I don't need anymore fan girls Anna, care to introduce me to your friend? I don't believe we've met."

"Sorry, this is Rain." Anna was still blushing, which Rain could see was giving Kaiba some sort of entertainment. She felt more than saw his cold gaze appraising her, and met his icy glare with one of her own.

" Hello Kaiba, nice to finally meet the CEO of Kaibacorp. It's a lovely tournament you're holding here."

He nodded, acknowledging her briefly before turning back to Anna.

" How about you prove you aren't another fan girl Anna?"

"Uh, what?"

" Would you like to give me a hand with a few things?"

"You want me to work for you? How on earth would that prove anything?"

He just smirked again, Rain scowled, answering the question, "He knows any normal fan girl wouldn't be able to handle working under him because he's such a hard ass that they would run away crying within the first day Anna."

" Oh, ok then. I'll do it."

Rain smiled, then looked at Kaiba. " If you make her cry you'll regret it."

"is it really any business of yours?"

" I make it my business." Rain released a gust of wind in his direction, causing dirt to fly in his face in a mini dust storm, He turned away, towing his little brother, who Rain realized hadn't said a word, behind him.

"Whatever." She heard him reply. -Arrogant prick...I hate people like that...- He stopped for a moment,

"Anna, I'll have someone pick you up from where you're staying in about three hours. Your work will start tonight."

Anna gave a small content sigh, before rounding on Rain.

"You didn't have to be rude ya know!"

"What, so he can dish it out, but I can't give a little back?"

"Well...you didn't have to do the mini dust storm thing..."

"What ever are you talking about Anna?" Rain blinked innocently, which made Anna groan. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, until Rain spotted A very tanned, very smexy platinum blonde individual walking their way. "We must have the worst luck in the world..." Rain grumbled, while Anna nodded in agreement.

"I'll let you do the talking if he stops." She said sweetly, earning a dirty look from Rain,

"Great..."

"Um, excuse me." Yep, he was talking to them. Wonderful. Rain was sooo not prepared for this.

"Yes?" She replied, trying to sound normal. He gave them both a mega-watt smile which made Rain feel like swooning. -Ok Rain, _don't_ focus on his looks. You can later, when he's not so evil anymore..- She tried to focus on what he was saying, something about being lost?

"Um...we're relatively new here sooo..."

"Oh, sorry. Well, since we're all new, why don't we explore together? What's your names? I'm Namu." _Boy he was chipper..._

" Sure, My name's Rain and this is Anna!" Rain decided to play along for now, for the most part anyway. " Why don't you come with us to the museum? We were just headed there to see the new Egyptian exhibit." She said with a grin. She caught the brief look of irritation cross his face and felt a glimmer of satisfaction. Though she knew Anna probably didn't like how she was playing, she couldn't help it.

" Oh, maybe while you go to the museum, I might have a bite to eat. I'm partially here for the duelling tournament, so I figure I should find a few competitors to fight."

" Oh, alright. Um, have you got any of those card things you need to get to the finals yet? There's probably not too much time left." Anna spoke up, he smiled at her, making her face redden slightly.

"The locater cards? Yeah, I took part in some duels earlier today and managed to get four."

"Wow, that's impressive! Only a few more to go!" Rain exclaimed, -probably cheated.- she thought to herself. -I don't remember seeing him duel many minor characters...but so far since we got here, the story has been altering a bit. Things keep happening differently. As long as the main part stays the same though it should be ok, cuz if the pharaoh loses so do the rest of us...- "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"Yes" He answered a little too forcefully. Rain smiled,

"Ok, see you later then Mal-- Namu." Rain cursed herself for a moment, hoping he hadn't noticed her slip. She looked at his narrowed eyes, yep. He'd noticed alright, shit.

" See you later girls, nice meeting you." He held Rain's gaze for a moment before continuing on his way. Rain sighed, turning to Anna who looked relatively horrified.

"Oh god Rain, I can't believe you did that!"

"It was totally an accident Anna! I'm not good with pretending things! I've never been a good actress! you know that!"

"He knows now!"

"I'll deal with it ok!?" Rain ran her hand through her hair, frustrated with herself. She looked at her watch. "Anna, you need to get back to the house and get ready for work and stuff."

"There's still like, two and a half hours til I have to go."

Rain gave her a pleading look, "I just need to think. I'd like to walk around by myself for a bit to clear my head, ok? Maybe I'll try to conjure light again. I don't know..."

Anna sighed, " After that? You seriously want to be alone?"

"Anna, after all the magic you've seen me learn this week, you should know I should be able to handle myself for a little while alone."

"...Alright..."

The two friends split ways then, Rain thought for a moment about Bakura as she walked in a random direction...actually she was heading towards a park she was pretty sure she'd seen earlier. She wondered why she hadn't seen the Tomb robber since she'd got here. She was pretty sure he'd been messing with the others, and knew he was collecting locater cards, so maybe it was all distracting him from her. Hell, if that was the case then it was a very good thing. The less he thought of her, the less she had to worry about the whole threat of him attacking her. Rain made her way into the park and sat down on a bench beside what looked like a small man made stream. She closed her eyes, listening to the water and tried to relax. After a few minutes she drifted off to sleep, and she dreamed...

...................................dream sequence........................Muahahahaha..........................................

Rayana woke with a start, she heard the sound of a chain as she tried to stand, stopping she looked around. Her ankle was tied to a thick chain attached to a pole in the ground. She wasn't accustomed to laying on the ground, so her neck and back ached, Her hands were tied behind her back, but that was easy enough to fix. She focused and used her fire to weaken the ropes, then pulled her hands free, rubbing her sore wrists. She knew she wouldn't be able to break the chain though, but maybe if she shook the earth beneath the pole up a little, she might be able the get the pole out of the ground. She gently laid her hands on the dirt. -earth, please move for me. I must get free.- She felt the ground moving, she dug around the stick with her mind, loosening it. Suddenly a shadow appeared behind her, Rayana jumped and twirled to look at the intruder. Pale hair, muscular frame. A handsome face with hard eyes. It had to be Akefia Bakura, thief king. There were rumours among the people that if one saw his face, they were already dead. She was caught, and she prepared herself for the worst...shutting her eyes and waiting for a blow that didn't come.

" What are you doing princess? you should know better than to try to escape. You're lucky I got here before my men, I see them watch you."

"What do you mean?" She glared at him suspiciously,

He laughed, "They want you. If it wasn't for my orders not to touch you, they all would have tried to take you by now. Naive girl." He shook his head, Rayana frowned at him.

"Why did you bother protecting me? You obviously know of my power...You know I could handle your men if I had to. I don't need protection."

"Heh...but you do, or I would never have been able to take you from your home. I've wanted you for a long time princess, you and your power."

"Well, I would never give you either, so you're wasting your time Thief king."

He walked close to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, making Rayana shiver. A smirk found it's way onto his face.

" Have you ever wondered why you don't control the darkness?"

Rayana stared at him, a small frown on her face, "What does that have to do with this? I have heard that no one can control the darkness…that is why the gods never gave it to me."

He laughed, "Oh, naïve princess…One can control the darkness, you were just never _destined _for it. You know without darkness, there is no light…they are two halves to a whole and whomever has the darkness, will be able to reign in the light."

"What is the point to this conversation, thief?" Rayana growled as she felt her powers stir. She glared at him as he ran a finger down her cheek, willing his finger to burn as her skin glowed slightly with the fire of her soul. Her eyes widened in surprise when nothing happened….well, not nothing actually, he seemed to be absorbing the flame. He snickered,

" I have power over the darkness Rayana, Therefore you are fated to be mine. I have the power to control you, and soon I'll have the power to strip you of your powers and take them as my own."

"You...you can't. It's impossible." He had the darkness? The other half of light?! It just wasn't possible!...not only that, but darkness and light were the most powerful of all, add the power of darkness to the powerful soul he already possessed and that would make him nearly unstoppable!

His eyes bored into her's, she saw the evil in them and shuddered. He cupped her face with his hand, "Nothing's impossible." Then he kissed her roughly, vanishing with a laugh that chilled her to the bone.

"I hate you!" She snarled angrily, throwing a fire ball at the entrance to the tent where he'd left. She heard a man scream and smiled bitterly, -at least I hit someone...-

Time flashed foreword and Rayana was in another tent, this one with furnishings and a large bed. She wasn't tied up this time, and Bakura was sitting beside her. She felt pain, there was an arrow sticking up from her right shoulder. Rayana was trying hard to look strong, but the pain was excruciating. Bakura was frowning down at her, but his look was softer this time, he looked almost worried.

" I keep telling you not to leave the tent, and you choose to on this of all days? At least I'll enjoy your brother's look of horror when he finds out one of his soldiers shot his sister by accident." He smiled, then sighed. "Bite down on this." He gave her a stick wrapped in cloth.

"Wh- Why?" She was surprised, "Why don't you just leave it. The wound will kill me eventually, why do you" She winced, "Why do you pretend to appear caring?" Over the past few weeks he had been getting nicer and nicer to her, and Rayana couldn't understand it. They had actually developed a sort of friendship that scared her. It was irritating because she couldn't help but be attracted to him and knew that if he kept treating her the way he did, well, it wouldn't just be a physical attraction anymore... Which wouldn't be good in the least. She figured death would be better. She wouldn't have to worry about falling for her family's greatest enemy if she was dead, right? He shoved the stick in her mouth, Rayana frowned at him, he sat her up gently and leaned her against his shoulder. She knew the arrow had gone right through her, and now realized how he planned to remove it. With no warning, he pushed the arrow the rest of the way through her back, Rayana screamed through the cloth, tears spilled down her face as he bandaged her wound and laid her back down, throwing the freed arrow behind him. He removed the cloth covered stick from her mouth and Rayana tried to reign in her sobs. Bakura sighed,

"Rayana, I wouldn't have just kidnapped you if I wanted you dead. I would have killed you a long time ago if that was the case. I find you to be good company, you're very intelligent for a woman when you want to be. I wouldn't want to lose you."

"...well, I guess you're all right too. At least you aren't so mean to me anymore..." Rayana whispered, " Me liking you at all is bad though...my brother, he'd be so mad..."

"So what? I should hate you, since you're the pharaoh's closest relative, but I don't. Gods only know why. Rest now Rayana, don't think so much. There is much to be done and you need to be well and able. Even if I do like you, I still need your power...I still have to kill the pharaoh."

A fresh tear made it's way down Rayana's face. "You don't have to..." She whispered.

" I do, and for once, I truly am sorry that it will cause you grief."

She felt his lips brush her's gently as she drifted off to a restless sleep.

............................................................End of dream...........................................................................................

Rain jumped, she looked around her, shocked to find herself on a park bench. Who falls asleep like that?! And that dream...it was so real! She shivered, looking at her watch she realizing that it had been an hour and a half since she'd sat down. -not too bad, it's only three o-clock.- She sighed, rubbing her head, she figured it would be best to assume that there would be more dreams from now on as she was pretty sure they were memories. That last one...she touched where the arrow had pierced her...that was horrible, she'd felt the pain, which was beyond anything she'd experienced in her life. Ouch. Just thinking about it hurt. She lifted up her shirt slightly, looking at her skin. There was an area of slightly lighter colouring right where the arrow in the dream had pierced. She'd always thought of it as just an ordinary birthmark until now. -Huh, that's just too weird....creepy- she thought about it for a moment, then sensed someone was watching her, Rain looked up, right into the violet eyes of Malik Ishtar. He was standing a few meters away, watching her. Rain frowned at him.

"What do you want?"

He walked closer and sat down next to her on the bench, causing Rain to move as far away from him as the bench would allow.

"Nothing, I just happened to see you sleeping here and was thinking about waking you up."

Rain raised a brow, giving him a look that plainly said she didn't believe him. "So you're saying it's a coincidence that you're here? That you just happened to be in this particular park?"

He shrugged, a small smirk on his lips. "Yep. That's what I'm saying. Why do you think I'd be looking for you?"

Rain glared at him, " Ugh, never mind. I should really go talk to Yugi. He's probably wondering where I went." She went to stand up, but he was fast, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back. Rain blushed slightly at the unexpected closeness, she tried to pry his hands off her but to no avail. "Let go."

He grinned evilly, "No, I'm not stupid and you know it. You know who I am and I can't let you go and spoil my plans by telling everyone the truth. So now, I need to figure out what to do with you." He nipped her ear and she yelped, making him laugh.

" You have no right to be touching me!" She growled,

" I can do what I want." Rain groaned at the childish tone,

" Look, just let go and we'll talk. I'd much rather at least be looking at someone when I'm talking to them." Rain growled, he thought for a moment and obliged, but kept an arm around her waist as he forced her to sit back on the bench beside him.

"So, how do you know me?"

"How do you know I know you?"

He gave her a look that said 'Do I _look_ like an idiot?' "Seriously Rain, you practically _said_ my name."

"Fine, I know a lot of things, but I can't tell you anything. So you'll just have to take my word for it when I say I can't really tell anyone what I know about you for the same reason I'm not telling you what you want to know." Rain figured she'd still stick by her plan to let things flow properly without her helping anything along, well, as much as she could. It was all so confusing to her, so she chose to try not to think about it.

"How am I supposed to trust you Rain, that would be stupidity on my part. There's no way to prove that you won't just run to the pharaoh as soon as I let you go. I think I may find a use for you though so I won't kill you. Where did you come from might I ask?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!..."

"I'm sure anyone with a sennen item sensed the portal, Rain. Don't play stupid, you aren't good at it." Rain noticed that a couple of his rare hunters had shown up and were standing a ways away, but still close enough that if Malik needed the they would be there in an instant. She shuddered slightly, hoping she wouldn't have to fight them.

"Well, I come from another realm, similar to this one, but no magic...and Domino city doesn't exist."

He gave her a look, then revealed the sennen rod, an irritated look on his face. "How is there no magic there when I can feel it rolling off of you in waves? Don't lie to me, I'll tell you right now that I don't have the patience for it."

Rain shivered, feeling a prickle of unease, no matter what magic she had, he could still send her to the shadow realm without batting an eye. "I'm not lying, I had no idea I had anything to do with magic until I came here. By accident I might add. I had no idea any of this actually existed." She waved a hand at that, he studies her for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine, I'll believe you, but if I find out you lied about anything I _will_ make you wish you were never born."

"you know, if you weren't so hell bent on being an ass you could be a decent human being. You ever thought of trying that out?" Rain was just talking now, trying to think of a way of getting away from him without using her powers. She didn't want the hurt the guy, it wasn't his fault he was so messed up and angry. Besides, what if they didn't work when she actually needed them? That was definitely a fear that had been festering in the back of her mind lately. Malik was looking at her looking relatively surprised at her comment. Then his eyes narrowed,

" You're a very odd girl Rain. You know I could sent your soul to the shadow realm within moments and yet you can still keeping going with the sarcasm. I'm not sure if you're brave or just stupid."

Rain smiled wryly, "Maybe I just know I could kick your ass." Then she sighed, giving him a pleading look, "Let me go Malik, you don't need me for anything and I swear on my life I won't tell them who you really are until your plans will it."

"No. I'm sorry Rain, but I can't do that. I've decided I want to see what you can do. You have a lot of magic within you and it could be very useful to me, besides, I find you very...intriguing."

Rain rolled her eyes. "You seem intent to force me to hurt you."

He laughed, "I doubt you can hurt me much."

"I can. But only if you make it so I have to."

"You should listen to the girl Malik." Rain and Malik both looked towards the source of the voice. Rain's heart plummeted, then started beating a very fast tempo when she realizing it was Bakura. The two had obviously already met, judging by the injury on Bakura's arm, Rain frowned as she noticed the self inflicted wound. This meant that at least half the group had met Malik now, and Bakura had slipped out of his hospital room, but why now? Had he somehow sensed her? Rain shook herself mentally, no...he wouldn't be looking for her yet, so he must have been looking for Malik. But that made no sense, because it didn't happen that way, they had already spoken...Rain gave up trying to figure out why he was here, she was actually almost relieved that he'd shown up due to the fact that she really hadn't wanted to get into a serious fight with Malik. Things had changed so much she decided at that moment that she wouldn't be able to rely on what she'd learned of this place back home. The thought scared her on a deep level, she didn't like feeling blind in a place so full of magic. Rain forced herself to focus, she looked to see Malik's reaction to Bakura's sudden presence, he was glaring at the thief.

"This has nothing to do with you spirit." Malik growled, annoyed. Bakura chuckled, sounding more than a little creepy.

"Oh, but it does. I don't want you tampering with what belongs to me." He said with a smirk, leaning against a tree. Rain raised a brow, that was crossing a line.

"Since _when_ have I _ever_ belonged to you? Or anyone for that matter?!" Rain practically hissed, shoving a distracted malik's arm off of her and putting herself a good distance from both villains. -How the hell do I always end up in stupid situations?- She thought as Malik stood to follow her. Rain was annoyed now, as they both started towards her, neither knew how much her powers had developed since she'd learned of them. She lifted a hand and blasted Malik with wind so forceful it knocked him back on the bench. Using the element of air seemed best as it was the least obvious and she didn't want bystanders to see anything too weird. Rain actually surprised herself with how easy it was to use air. She'd barely thought about it and the blast was powerful enough to give someone whiplash. She turned to Bakura, who whistled and applauded her mockingly.

"Well, looks like you're still a fast learner. I would expect no less from you of course." He smiled evilly, "It's almost time for my plans for you to come to fruitation my dear. Are you excited?"

"Not particularly..." Rain growled, before trying to blast him away from her too, but he appeared to expect it, raising his hands and somehow absorbing the wind as it came towards him. She stared in shock..." H-How did you..."

He smirked, "One of my many talents, you aren't strong enough to fight the power of darkness."

"I will be."

"..."He nodded, "Yes, you will...the question is whether or not you actually can _win_ dear."

Rain sighed, "What exactly happened three thousand years ago?"

His gaze darkened at the question, "Why do you ask Rain?"

Rain knew she was treading in very dangerous territory, she cast a glance to Malik, to find to her surprise had vanished from the park bench. Bakura's gaze followed her own and he snorted,

"Must have realized he wasn't going to get you for the moment."

Rain shrugged in response, "Maybe, or he got bored and went to go scheme some more elsewhere. The finals are going to start very soon so that would make sense."

Bakura closed the distance between them, stopping a few feet away. "So, why did you ask something that you already know?" Rain's eyes met his, she saw a very dark anger there.

"But I don't know the answer."

His gaze was like ice, freezing her soul. "You'll remember, you must have remembered something for you to ask me anything."

"...I remembered fragments, only small pieces. I know what she...I, could do, and that I was kidnapped by...uh, you...I know there was a strong urge to escape at first. She...I, hated you...I think." Rain frowned, "But then I remembered being shot by an arrow. Don't know how exactly it happened, just know it was a few weeks after the first little flash I had. You helped though, you took it out. I hope to never get hurt that badly in this life, the memory felt so...real. I remember being confused, wishing that you didn't act like you cared at all."

He took another step her way, Rain backed up into a tree. She frowned, -damn tree got in my way.- She looked away from Bakura's eyes, the darkness there scared her and she didn't like how his gaze seemed to pierce her soul. Instead she focused on his injured arm.

"W-why do you like to hurt Ryo?"

He shrugged, giving no answer. "Why wish that I didn't care? One would think you would be grateful that you were no longer being treated like a dog."

Rain felt herself blush, "Because Rayana didn't want to love you, but I think...from what I felt, I think she'd already fallen _hard_." She didn't want to say that _she_ had loved him so she used her past self's name instead. Rain had a hard time admitting she was the same person, but knew in her heart that she was the same, just reborn. Bakura glared at her angrily,

" Why do you feel the need to act like she's a different person that you. You are the same person. _You_ never loved me Rain, otherwise you never would have betrayed me! You're a treacherous lying little creature, and you always have been. Yet I _still_ want you. It irritates me to no end, so I want you to suffer for it. I want revenge." He growled, ranting.

"Is revenge _all_ you _ever_ think about?! If you ever cared about me at all you would have learned to _forgive_!! You asshole!!!"

"You don't _deserve_ to be forgiven, wench!"

"Right. So what do I have to do?! _Die_?! What would it take?! It's impossible for me to _ever_ be forgiven by you because a) I don't know what in Ra's name I did to piss you off in the first place, and b) You don't know _how_ to forgive and let go, and even if you did you wouldn't because you hate the whole damn world and everything in it! Obviously including me! and until you can figure out that if you ever really care about someone you don't hold a grudge against them for three _thousand_ years for some stupid thing they apparently did! _Especially_ if you don't even know their side of the Ra damned story!!!"

" You won't make be feel guilty when you're the one who was in the wrong, you manipulative little witch." He gripped her arms and squeezed, shoving her hard against the tree, "If you _ever_ raise your voice to me again I will _destroy_ you and all you care about." She tried to ignore the threat, but winced as he crushed her against the poor tree. Rain didn't know what to do, he just made her so _angry_. Had she really betrayed him? She didn't know, but she knew that she'd been unable to kill him, she knew that from what she'd seen in the museum. A thought occurred to her,

"Have you ever wondered why you weren't executed? Why your soul still exists?" Rain spoke quietly, trying not to let her anger show, she didn't want him to hit her or something. She looked into his eyes again, "You know what else I've seen? I've seen Rayana, me-whatever in a temple, trying to hide the fact that she loved you when confronted by others, breaking down because she knew she could never kill you, because she didn't want to have to choose between you and her family. She was begging the gods to take her power away so that she could just live her life and not get people hurt! Wanted to be with you!"

Rain felt the tears threatening to fall, she cursed herself for getting emotional in front of him of all people. "That kind of love is priceless and you obviously threw it away." Rain couldn't stop her voice from shaking, from both fear and something akin to grief. She saw something terrifying flash in his eyes, before pushing him back and turning to run. She ran, ran as far and fast as her legs would carry her.


	3. Chapter 3

Bakura: EgyptianSoul.88 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other thing she may write about besides her own characters Rain and Anna. -Glare- Ok, you can stop poking me with that damn blade now, it's getting very annoying!

EgyptianSoul.88: -sigh- Fine…You know, you're cute when you're angry. -grin-

Bakura: You're lucky I'm fond of you woman.

Chapter 3: not knowing

Rain didn't care where she was going, and when she stopped it was dusk and she was on a street she didn't recognize in the small amount of sunlight still glowing over the city. Rain finally let the tears fall, she didn't quite understand why she was crying, it was as though a dam had broke and all the emotions of another life were flooding through her. -Damn him, bastard...frickin hell...- Rain knew she still loved him, that he was her true soul mate and she hated it. Why did she have to love the one guy who was supposed to be her greatest enemy? He wanted to torture and do god knew what to her for god's sake! Rain sank down onto a bench at a bus stop, spent. She opened her hand and made a small flame dance on her palm, it warmed her slightly. She sighed, -well, maybe there's someone else out there...some people believe in more than one soul mate. I mean, he doesn't even have a body of his own, he hates me, and he's an evil psycho, right?- She was interrupted from her thoughts when someone sat down beside her, Rain quickly extinguished her flame and glanced at the person. She jumped up, and broke into a run again. -Damn it, he just had to follow me!-

Rain didn't get very far, she darted into a dark alley hoping he'd lose sight of her, but it was a bad idea. Rain had nearly got to the end of the alley when she felt a hand grab her wrist, then she was thrown into a wall and pinned faster than she could even think of using any of her powers. Rain struggled for a moment, glaring at Bakura. She realized it wasn't as dark as she thought, a full moon was starting to rise in the sky, bathing them in it's light, making the world look surreal.

"Stupid girl." Bakura growled, Rain knew she was shaking, he could kill her right now, she realized. Right here, right now. No one would see, she was regretting running into the alley. His grip was hard on her arms and Rain knew she'd probably have bruises. She felt paralyzed with fear, and she was sickened with herself for being afraid. She tried to continue to glare at the tomb robber, trying not to let the fear show in her eyes. He was staring intently at her, his face inches away. "Why did you run?"

"...Because, I... I just had to get away." Rain stuttered, he sighed,

"Why?"

" I'd really rather not say." Rain felt the blood rush to her face. He seemed to notice her discomfort, a small smile flitted across his face.

"You know, I wish I could believe you when you say you that you loved me... What you did to me was worse than death, Rain. Do you know what it's like to have your soul ripped from your body? To be trapped in an object for three thousand years? To know you chose your brother over me without a thought."

"...Don't you get it? I never chose. I don't need to remember to see that. You both ended up trapped souls, waiting for the right time and people to come along. So the pharaoh obviously had to do it without much help from me."

"You watched from the sidelines when you could have aided me." He retorted, Rain gazed into his eyes, wishing she could make all that anger, and deeply buried hurt go away.

"I'm sorry...I really am."

He eyed her for a few moments, then nodded slowly. "... it doesn't matter anyway...It's far too late for sorry..." He paused for a moment, then swooped in and kissed her roughly, Rain could feel his passionate need as his tongue explored her mouth, it surprised her, she didn't have time to resist so she all but melted as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer. In that moment, Rain realized that no matter how angry or hateful he was, or how many times he denied it, the king of Thieves really did care for her and no matter what was said or done it would always be so. Whether he'd ever truly admit it to himself was another story. Rain sighed as he broke the kiss, knowing the moment that his defences were back up. He stiffened and his blood tinged eyes regarded her with a stoic expression, "I will have your power...and then your family will pay." With that, he walked away without another word, leaving Rain to find her way back to Yugi's house, where her very worried friends were waiting. She tried not to cry, but the whole way back she had to fight a strong impulse to collapse on the ground and bawl her eyes out. He was so angry...and it truly scared her, because she knew that he would try to follow through with taking her power...her birthright, and that it would completely destroy her when he did so...because she wouldn't be able to stop him no matter how powerful she became.

Rain was very quiet as she entered the door to the games shop, the urge to cry was gone, but she felt drained. She made her way up the stairs and into the apartment, where Yami, Anzu, Jou, and...Mai -where'd she come from- Rain wondered silently. Were waiting for her. She was surprised to see that Yami was in control and not Yugi, she noted that he stood as she entered. -Oh, he looks mad...I'm so in for it. Anna's not here, I wonder how long she'll be with Kaiba?-

"Rain, where were you?" He asked, worry and anger written all over his face. Rain noticed Mai examining her, obviously wondering who exactly Rain was. It appeared that they hadn't told her a whole lot about her from her expression. She tried not to look at the pharaoh, then after a moment she met his gaze,

"I...I ran into someone." Rain didn't know how much to tell him, he raised a brow,

"Who?"

"...." Rain glanced at the others in the room, who were all looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer, she looked back at the pharaoh. "......Bakura..." She muttered quietly, eyes downcast. Yami's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed.

"Did he hurt you?"

Rain tilted her head to the side slightly, sighing, "...Not really." She lied, trying hard not to let any emotion come into her voice as she did so. She cleared her throat, " Just warned me some more, I think he wanted to see how my power is progressing. Maybe trying to sense it or something."

Rain looked around the room, everyone seemed satisfied. She walked over to Mai, holding out her hand. " Hey, I'm Rain." The older woman smiled at her, then shook the extended hand, she had a firm handshake.

"I'm Mai, I've heard a bit about you Rain. " She stated, Rain grinned at her.

" Well, hopefully they haven't told you anything embarrassing." Mai laughed at that, then turned to the door,

"Well, I'll probably see you all later. It was nice to meet you Rain but I've gotta jet."

Rain nodded, waving, "Nice to meet you too!" Then Rain turned to the others, "I'm tired...Ummm, Yami, You and Yugi wouldn't mind if I laid down in your room for a little bit?" She glanced at the time, it was already a little past ten pm. Yami nodded after a moment, and Rain said goodnight to her friends before going down the hall to Yugi's room. She shut the door behind her and sat down on the bed, hugging her knees, and looking out the window at the stars. Rain felt the tears begin to flood her eyes as a quiet sob escaped her, she trembled for a moment, putting her head on her knees and closing her eyes. -Why me? Why do I have to feel this way for someone like Bakura of all people. He's hateful and cruel. I don't know how my past self could even grow to _like_ him! The guy claims to be the darkness itself for Ra's sake! Which isn't really far off because he controls that particular element...then there's his soul beast...or whatever it's called, _Diabound_. I mean, he's just _scary_! I have to try to erase these feelings I have for him, or I'm not going to survive this world... he's obviously not planning on changing his mind about getting revenge against the pharaoh...and he's so full of hate and anger that there's no way he's going to forgive me for how things turned out before...not sure whatever sanity he had before he was sealed in the ring survived all these years.- Rain jumped slightly when the door to the room creaked open, she hastily wiped her eyes as Yami entered the room, closing the door behind him. He sighed, looking at her face before sitting down beside her.

" Rain, what happened today with the thief?"

"N...nothing..." She winced at her own voice, she sounded pathetically sad. Yami shook his head at her,

"I can read you so easily, I know you're hurting Rain. Even if I don't remember my past, even if you're re-incarnated, you're still my sister. You can talk to me." He put an arm around her shoulder, trying to be comforting. Rain cracked a small smile.

"...well, I kind of remembered a little more about the past. but not a lot. I know somehow got myself kidnapped by the Thief king and that I spent at the very least a month with him and his men. I think he did it mostly to irritate you....um, well...in the beginning, the first flash I had was one of me being a typical captive...I was trying to escape but got caught...He didn't hurt me though, just did a good job of both scaring and pissing me off..." Rain paused for a moment, "You know, I'm not having such a hard time with this whole past life thing. When I first found out I thought of her as a completely different person, but it's like Rayana's kind of merging with me as I remember more. It's a weird feeling." Yami smiled slightly at her, and nodded.

"Anyway, I remembered something that happened a few weeks later. I woke up in a bed this time, and Bakura was telling me off for going outside...you see, apparently I managed to get shot with an arrow meant for someone else. He took it out." Rain grimaced, "It hurt like hell, even as a memory. I felt confused and asked him why he didn't just leave it alone. He'd been being freakishly nice to me and I was starting to actually like him. He cared about me, he was so concerned..." Rain noticed Yami had stiffened at that,

" So...what we saw in the museum...that's how it happened. You fell in love with your captor." He was staring at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, after remembering that, Bakura showed up. I asked him what exactly happened three thousand years ago...I was wondering what I did to make him hate me. It took a little while, but I pissed him off enough for him to accuse me of betraying him. According to him I chose you over him, I pointed out that you both ended up in sennen items, so I had nothing to do with it...I pointed out that he hadn't been executed, that I never chose at all. He thinks that I chose you by sitting on the sidelines instead of helping him. I said that Rayana loved him, that I loved him then, and he pretty much accused me of lying. Said he wanted revenge, which is nothing new I suppose." Rain sighed, "I don't know why, but it hurt when he said I had never loved him, I..." She stopped, Yami looked very sad. "Sorry Yami..." He shook his head slowly.

"Do you love him even now?"

Rain shivered, "I don't even know...I keep asking myself why it's him of all people. I _can't_ love him, because I doubt he can change and me loving him will kill me eventually."

"I wish I could help you Rain." He gave her a pitying look, then stood up, just as Amy burst into the room, glomping Rain.

"Hey! Rain you wouldn't believe my day!" She started as she dragged Rain back to the living room, Rain mouthed a thank you to Yami, before turning to her yammering friend.

"Ok, slow down. We've both had quite a day..."

"What? What happened to you?"

"I happened to run into malik _and_ bakura."

Anna's eyes grew wide with shock, "Oh my God!" It took her a moment to absorb this, then she shuddered, "Jeez Rain, both of them at once?"

Rain nodded, "I fell asleep on a park bench, Malik woke me up."

"How are you not in the shadow realm?"

Rain sighed, "I'm actually not sure." She told Anna the whole story, all the way to when she ended up wandering back to the house alone. Anna gave her friend a hug, then smiled. Rain eyed her,

"What?"

"So...he kissed you." She said it with a small grin, Rain rolled her eyes.

"_Yes_...."

"...And you knocked Malik over..." Rain laughed, rolling her eyes.

" Anna, you're a nut. Yeah, I'm not sure where Malik ran off to after that, he just kind of vanished." She gave a thoughtful pause, "I'm sure I must have pissed him off at least a little."

" You'll have to watch your back extra Rain, they both want a piece of you and when the finals start we'll be kind of stranded with them in the air."

"You will too Anna."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're my best friend and if they get to you it'll get to me." Rain grumbled, Anna shivered, but grinned anyway,

"They won't get me, no worries. If worse came to worst I'd just get Kaiba to give me a body guard."

"_ What_?!" Rain stared at Anna, " Why would he do that?"

" Because he likes me. Mokuba and I get along great and he wants me to start babysitting for him when he's not around. Apparently Mokuba doesn't like the girl who used to do it and that's the job he wanted me to do for him! If Mokuba really likes me, then he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me because that would upset his brother. I'm pretty sure he'd be pretty mad too though, I know he's really icy but I think really think that deep down he really likes me."

"Wow Anna, I'm glad." Rain leaned back, smiling. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, it's late. The finals are in three days, and I've got a feeling that things are going to be far worse that what we know is supposed to happen."

"I've been thinking about that. I think someone in our world may have been from here originally. Maybe they could see the future or something. That's how the entire concept of Yugioh was created. I don't think anyone knew about us and that's why we weren't in the story. What if, now that we are here, things are happening the way they were actually meant to? I think we may have been completely erased from the history of this world, which from what I've learned would take some very serious magic."

Anna stared at her, she looked a little shocked, "Uh...that makes sense I guess....so from now on I suppose we shouldn't even bother thinking about what we thought we knew about how things turn out. As long as Yami and Yugi win that last duel I guess I don't care about much else anyway... Wow Rain, I wouldn't have even thought about that."

"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About a lot of things. Um...do you believe in soul mates?"

"I don't know. I guess so." Anna tilted her head to the side, a slow smile spread across her face. "Maybe that's why you always liked Bakura, even when he's all sick and evil. Maybe your soul recognized him."

Rain shrugged, "Maybe...I was thinking that, but I hope it isn't true. I'm trying so hard to hate him Anna, but it hurts...it hurts that he wants to hurt me because he doesn't like that he feels anything for me, it hurts that I feel like fate cursed me to love a psychotic ancient Egyptian spirit inhabiting the body of a sweet guy like Ryo...we actually haven't met Ryo. I just realized that, Bakura's always had control..." Rain was shaking, tears falling down her face as she spoke, Anna put her arms around her, holding her. Rain continued on. "You know, I don't want to love him...I want to hate him...but I look in his eyes and it kills me to see all the pain and hurt in there mixed with his hatred and anger. He's wounded and has been for a long time, and it's twisted him into a monster. I want to see what really happened back then...three thousand years ago...I want to see why he's so...Why he's so _mad_ at me, I know why he hates the pharoah, but...I feel like I need to remember everything, I think I need to see what happened at the end...I have a feeling I didn't live very long after his and Yami's souls were put into sennen items."

"It's alright Rain, you'll remember it all eventually...I just hope you don't regret wanting to know your own end. I don't think Bakura's a lost cause though...I think you can help him."

"How? He hates me Anna."

"I don't think he hates you, he just doesn't know how to handle you being here...and he wants your power. I think the key you need to help him is in your memories somewhere. We should get some sleep Rain, you're definitely going to need it. I figure I'll let you know now, Honda went to go get Shizuka today, he should be back with her some time tomorrow.. in the show didn't he leave earlier? Never mind, since we showed up things have changed, so I'm not surprised his leaving to go get her was delayed."

"So that means Malik is going to kidnap Jou, Mokuba and Anzu tomorrow."

"I think so."

Rain yawned, 'Grandpa' Motou had found them an air mattress to sleep on the second night that they were staying there, as the girls settled into bed Rain had a new thought, she grabbed Anna's shoulder.

"Promise me something Anna, you have to stay with me tomorrow. I think Malik may come after you along with the others, it's just a hunch, but I'll feel better if I can keep an eye on you."

"Sure Rain, I'll be really careful, ok? Night..."

"Night Anna..." And with that, Rain fell asleep quickly, succumbing to her dreams.

...............Another dream sequence.................gotta have em........

Rayana woke up, she struggled to remember where she was for a moment, before realizing she was in a very large bed, when she tried to get up she realized she was stuck. There were two very large arms circling her from behind, and with that realization the memories of the night before came back to her. Her face went as scarlet as the bed sheets as she realized who's bed she was currently in and why. -Ok...I...I...there has to be a rational explanation...He got me drunk...and I _slept_ with him! Oh gods! I gave my virginity to...to...my families worst _enemy_...the king of thieves of all people! I...- She realized then that she hadn't been drunk...and that she'd finally given in to the attraction she'd felt for him since they had first laid eyes on each other. Of course it would have happened earlier considering she'd been resisting his many advances over the last few months. She hoped he wouldn't gloat... She tried to pry the arms off of her, but found the more she tried, the tighter they became. -Great, the thief king's going to squeeze me to death...- She frowned, and managed to turn around in his arms.

"Bakura." She spoke semi-loudly, he just smiled slightly in his sleep, which made Rayana roll her eyes in exasperation. Of course he'd wake up right away if he was under attack. "Bakura, wake _up_!" She all but shouted, making him jolt awake, letting her go in surprise. His ruby eyes narrowed as he looked around for a threat, when he looked at her though, his eyes softened slightly.

"What?" Was all he said, Rayana sighed, then realized she was naked...she squeaked slightly and wrapped a sheet tightly around herself making him laugh. Which in turn made her stare at him, she'd never heard him laugh like that...anything she'd ever heard was when he was being cruel to someone...he looked so...carefree at that moment, she saw what could be _good_ in him in that moment. Her heart swelled,

"You were really determined not to let go of me, so I had to wake you up."

" Heh...I'm determined not to let you go when I'm awake too Rayana." He grabbed her, holding her close for a moment. Rayana realized in that moment the truth, and it scared her. She loved him...and she could never live without this man. She sighed, leaning her head against his chest as the tears began to fall. "What's wrong?" He asked her, concerned.

"I...I just realized something..." She looked at him, remembering how much they're relationship had changed over the last two seasons. It had been half a year since he had taken her from the palace, at first she'd been his prisoner, she'd hated him, then they had developed an odd sort of friendship, and now...this. "I love you, and it scares me."

He looked taken aback for a moment, then he kissed her forehead almost tenderly, which was odd for someone who was rumoured to kill without a thought...

"I...feel the same...I don't even know how I _can_ feel this way for you. You're my enemy."

"I know...We have to pretend it isn't so...my brother, he can't know...so... I have to leave."

" Why pretend? You can stay with me."

Rayana eyed him, "I can only stay with you here if you give up the assault on my family. Find room for forgiveness in your heart and let go of the hate you feel towards my brother. Then I could stay with you."

"You could help me...You know I can't stop, I've come too far for that Rayana. My people cry out for justice and I'm the only one who can give them what they want."

Rayana sighed, "I...I can't turn against my own _brother_ Bakura..."

He gave her a cold look as she dressed. "Fine...Then go." He stood, Rayana averted her eyes as he stood and put on his robes. "I'll get you a camel, you can think of the story of how you escaped on your own, tell your precious _brother_ that I send my regards and plan to see him soon."

Rayana's eyes filled with tears at his tone, "I'll always love you, you know...but It's not easy when someone forces you to choose between the two people you care most about."

..................ends.......................................................................................................

Rain was awakened by Anna, who was shaking her shoulders, "Rain! You slept in! It's nearly noon, and Yugi just called and told me that the rare hunters took Anzu and Mokuba earlier this morning!"

"What?!" Rain jumped up and got ready in record time,

"Wow, I've never seen you move that fast." Anna spoke with a small smile

"Not happening again." Rain growled as they went out the door, "Where the hell are the docks?"

Meanwhile, Malik was plotting as he watched Yugi and the pharaoh through Jou's eyes. His mind wasn't on the duel though, he was thinking about that girl, Rain. She was something else, the power he'd felt from her, especially when she'd hit him with that wind...and that ferocious beauty...he just had to have her. If he could gain her cooperation, well, he saw _endless_ opportunities, he would have the world at his feet if he had her at his side, but that wouldn't happen without some...persuasion. Bakura seemed to want her as well, so he decided not to tell his short term associate. But how would he ensnare her? He knew from her friend's minds that she seemed close to the pharoah, and the other girl, Anna.

"Odeon, I need you to do me a favour. I need you to get some men to shadow Rain and Anna, they need to somehow separate them."

" Yes Master Malik, right away sir." The tall man bowed as he exited the room, Malik smirked to himself, hell, if he couldn't get Anna away from Rain, he may just go after the girl himself...maybe knock her out. If magical means wouldn't work, he'd find a way. He always did.

Rain shivered as she arrived at the docks, the duel was nearly over, she saw Honda and Shizuka and walked over to them, Anna towing behind her.

"Hey." She said quietly, introducing herself to the small girl, she contemplated finding Malik and...well, she wasn't sure what she would do if she found him, but she wanted to see if she could find him and maybe spy on his plans a little bit. She discarded the idea nearly as soon as it popped in her head. She knew that she could still end up in danger if she left the group, and she knew that her powers wouldn't be at full strength for a long time. She was just discovering them now, and no matter how fast she could learn there wasn't really any particular person who could train her. She would have to wait until the rest of her memories came back before she really knew what she was doing. Rain was jerked out of her thoughts when she realized that Shizuka had just run to the water to rescue her brother, Yugi was choking when Rain ran to see him. He smiled at her as Shizuka and Jou came out of the water.

"Glad to see you're all ok." Rain said, flashing a smile at Anzu as she walked over, Anna ran straight to Kaiba and Mokuba, hugging the smaller boy.

" It was close, you're lucky you didn't have to see most of it Rain, I can't believe that Malik actually had the gall to take over Anzu, and Jou's minds like that."

" I'm glad you both found a way out of that situation." Rain said quietly, before looking up at the sky, "The finals are coming. Are you prepared for what might happen? He's willing to take lives _and_ souls to get what he wants."

The others nodded solemnly. Anzu looked rattled, "We'll be ok...we just have to stick together." She looked at Rain as she said the last part, "Meaning no going off on your own Rain, you of all people should have someone with you at all times."

Rain shrugged, "Can't do that Anzu, there are things I have to sort out on my own."

Anzu sighed, " What on earth does that have to do with Bakura or Malik, we all know the're both after you, so you should let us stand with you."

"Anzu, you don't understand...this has _everything_ to do with Bakura."

Anzu was about to say more, but a glance from Yugi stopped her, Rain silently thanked him, she didn't want them all to know she had any feelings for one of their enemies, especially when those feelings centered around love. She turned to Anna, sighing as she spotted her friend sitting alone by the pier. Rain walked to her and plopped down next to her.

"Hey, why'd you sit over here, all alone?"

" I don't know, I just needed to relax I guess." Anna leaned her chin against her knees, Rain smiled slightly.

"You want to head back to the house? I already told them I'm going, but they don't want me to be alone so if I bring you, they can't complain."

"I can't believe how fast they accepted us into their group Rain, I'm so happy we got so lucky in the friends department. It would be nice if you weren't so damn appealing to the bad guys though. I swear, I don't get it. Didn't you say Bakura was the only one that could take your powers from you? What the hell does Malik want? I've got this feeling that they don't know they _both_ want you. Maybe they'll get in a fight about it and one will kill the other...that would make everything easier, wouldn't it?" Rain shook her head,

" I wouldn't want that...I know it's bad, but I just can't handle the thought of Bakura being gone."

" Oh Rain, I keep forgetting that you love one of the people out to get you...you're so screwed in the man department..."

Rain rolled her eyes and hauled her friend to her feet, they said goodbye to the group and walked down the street, it was a half hour walk back to the house but they both found it was nice out, so it made for a good walk.


	4. Chapter 4

E.S88: I do NOT own yu-gi-oh!!! I only wish I did.

Chapter 4: the past.

-The finals are here.- Rain thought to herself as she walked with the group into a half finished stadium, Kaiba was there with a number of his men, Mai snorted,

"Looks like we're unfashionably early." Just then, two of Kaiba's men met them as they continued into the stadium.

"We need to see your locator cards or you folks may go no further." Mai, Yugi, and Jou produced the cards and were given a tournament I.D card each and told to keep them on their person at all times. The guys were ridiculously sombre.

Rain giggled slightly, stopping herself before they would notice that she found them entertaining, before sitting down on some bleachers to wait. It wasn't long before another finalist showed up, as he walked into the light Rain recognized Malik, his eyes met hers and he smiled slyly before turning to greet Jou and Anzu.

"This is Namu, remember Yug? He tried to help up when the rare hunters kidnapped us." Anzu spoke excited. Rain rolled her eyes, wishing that she could point out who he really was as his charade was getting kind of annoying. She sighed, wondering when the blimp would show up, then jumped about a foot when she felt hot breath at her ear. She turned sharply, realizing that while she'd been thinking Malik had wandered in her direction and had sat down beside her. His face was inched away, Rain growled and shoved at him, but he caught her hand in his.

"Don't sneak up on me!" Then she stared at his hand clasped around her's, blushing, "And leggo of my hand."

He grinned, looking very innocent and cute. "Oh I'm sorry Rain! I thought you noticed when I sat down....I don't think I want to let go of your hand though, you may try to hit me again." Rain scowled at the fake innocence in his voice, she could tell just by the look in his eyes that he was finding her reaction highly amusing.

"What do you want?" She grumbled, He smirked and leaned in to whisper, his breath tickling her ear as he did so making her shiver,

" Just making sure you haven't let anything slip, you know." He paused for a moment, placing his free hand on her lower back making her stiffen slightly, "Because I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what would happen if you mention anything about me to your little friends..."

"I won't let you hurt them."

"You won't have a choice." He would have said more, but Bakura entered the stadium just then and was looking right at them with a look of irritation on his face, replaced by his innocent Ryo imitation when the others caught sight of him.

"Oh my God Ryo, what are you doing here?!" Anzu squealed, He smiled.

"I'm competing in the finals!"

"How? You should still be in the hospital!" Jou stared at Ryo's injured arm, worry was evident on all their faces.

" I got all six locator cards, so...yeah. And I'm feeling much better now, don't worry."

"Wha--"

"Hey look! Someone's coming!" They all looked to see the seventh duellist arrive, Jou started yelling as soon as the man introduced himself as Malik. Rain couldn't help but stare...the man could definitely pass for the bad guy, he looked very intimidating and she found herself rather shaken by the first impression, which was silly, because the real bad guy was sitting right next to her, currently trying to put his arm around her shoulders. Rain glared at him,

"Cut. It. Out."

Malik pouted, " But you're fun to bug Rain, I just can't help myself!"

"Well, you're lucky that Yugi isn't looking this way, I think he'd be a tad suspicious with you acting all weird."

" He'd just assume I have a crush on you sweetie, either way, no one's paying attention to me right now so I'm gonna take advantage."

" You're weird Malik, first you threaten to hurt my friends, and now you're hitting on me. And for your sake, I hope you never call me sweetie again."

He just grinned at her. Rain rolled her eyes, then noticed Bakura was looking over again, their eyes locked, suddenly a slow smile spread across her face. "I'm thinking there's at least one other person here that is watching right now too." -The question is, will he be jealous or just as aloof as he usually seemed to be when not duelling.- She thought to herself. Malik looked around, then noticed Bakura slowly striding towards them. Malik took his arm away from Rains shoulders in a flash as he took note of the tomb robber's expression.

" Hello Rain," The ivory haired thief looked at her for a long moment before glaring at Malik, pointedly glancing down at the hand that still had her's, he finally let go. They were both silent but it looked to Rain as though they were having a silent conversation. Rain wasn't sure she wanted to hear it, as it seemed to be pretty intense, ending when Malik suddenly stood up and turned to her,

"Alright, I'm going to go see when this things starting." He winked at her, "Nice talking to you, Rain."

Rain stared after him, then eyed Bakura. "Hi. You guys telepathic or something?"

He stared at her icily, then shrugged, " Not your business." He growled out quietly, making Rain stand up in a huff,

"Fine, Whatever you say." She walked back to where Yugi was standing,

"Hey." She was about to ask if he'd talked to Kaiba but was distracted as the Blimp finally showed up and landed in the centre of the stadium, a platform leading to the door lowered down and Kaiba smirked.

"Kaiba Craft 3, or the dueling arena...has arrived." Mokuba popped out from behind his big brother and instructed everyone to get on the ship. The group headed to the door. Rain sighed, and grabbed Anna,

"All right, time to go." Rain said it as everyone else was heading up the ramp, there was a brief stop when the men at the door didn't want to let the 'cheerleaders' on the blimp as they weren't actually competing, but Mokuba stepped up for them and ok'd it.

"Oh! Are you excited?" Anna asked as Rain hauled her behind her. She shrugged, raising a brow.

" If being scared to death and worried sick are considered excitement then yes. I don't know how you can be so...happy considering we're going to be stuck in the air with a revenge obsessed, three thousand year old spirit, and an annoying, slightly perverted soon-to-be-possessed-by-his-insane-yami tomb keeper...that's what Malik is, right?" Anna was at a loss for words momentarily, before shaking her head at her friend.

" Uh...why is he perverted?"

" He's very touchy-feely towards me and it's very annoying." Rain grumbled, Anna gave a thoughtful pause,

" Well...I guess I'm a little worried, but if I avoid them both they probably won't bother with me, right? That's my theory anyway, and I'm sticking to it."

" Unfortunately I have a knack for attracting their attention, so your plan won't work for me." Rain said dryly. Anna gave her a hug as they walked down the hall after entering the blimp.

"I wish there was a way to help you Rain...the most we can hope for is that Yami will still defeat them both."

Rain sighed, "I don't know why, but knowing that Bakura will probably be the first to go scares me...because I don't think I like the idea of being near Malik's psycho alter ego...I actually feel safer with Bakura, because I know he won't kill me."

"How do you know?"

"Because, I remember more of my past...and I think him and I may have really had something in my past life. He cared about me I think, I know he's angry and bitter now, but I don't think he actually hates me. He would have killed me the first night he saw me if that was the case. He wouldn't have kissed me either, right?"

"I guess...Be careful around him anyway. Cuz you never know, he probably hasn't gotten any for a few thousand years... and if you had a relationship back then, he may just want in your pants again."

Rain just nodded slightly in response, "I don't think that's the case, but I'll take your warning to heart"

Rain realized that they were on their own for rooms as they went on and groaned as they all entered Jounouchi's room, it was agreed that most of them were sleeping in Jou's room, because Yugi needed the quiet. That left Rain and Anna to find somewhere to sleep.

"Anna, you got any ideas on our sleeping arrangements?"

" Ummm...well, I'm sleeping in one of Kaiba's private rooms...he asked me to keep Mokuba company for the length of the finals."

"Sooo...I'm the only one without a place to sleep...so much for friends..." Rain grumbled, Anna gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Rain, I asked him if you could sleep in the room with me but he said no..."

"Typical." Rain said with a scowl.

--Intercom: Attention, prepare for lift off. The last duellist has arrived. All duellists must report to the main hall in two hours to receive information about the first duel.--

Rain sighed, "Ok, well...I'm going to go hunt for a room, you need to go check out where you're staying right?" She didn't wait for an answer and turned on her heel hurrying off down the hallway. Anna didn't follow, she knew Rain was too irritated to talk to right now so she left to do exactly what Rain had assumed she'd want to do. Rain went to Mai's room and asked her if she could stay there, but Mai turned her down with the excuse that she needed to be able to think, and needed to be alone to do it. Rain wandered the halls angrily for a few minutes before she bumped into Bakura...Quite literally. She'd been storming down the hall and she'd slammed into him with enough force to knock them both over. Rain jumped up as though she'd been stung, blushing furiously.

"I-I'm sorry Bakura, I wasn't looking where I was going."

He stood up and dusted himself off, shooting her a glare, "Obviously."

"Um...I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?" He gave a derisive snort.

"Oh please." Rain stood there, feeling somewhat stupid for a moment wondering why she even bothered asking such a question. Suddenly an idea popped into her head,

" Um...Do you know anywhere I could sleep tonight? Like, Um...I dunno, even a storage area would do..." She was blushing again, wondering what was wrong with her. She felt like a kid with a crush, which was ridiculous considering who she was talking to. She should have her guard up, she knew...but she had narrowed it down to asking either him or Malik to help her because she had no idea where Ishizu was and Rishid was out of the question. Rain sighed when Bakura smirked.

" What, your little friends weren't nice enough to let you stay with _them_?"

"I-It's not like that. There wasn't room for all of us and Kaiba is letting Anna stay with him...So...I got the short end if the stick." She shrugged, "It's annoying, but I understand."

" Heh, so you weren't important enough to get a place to sleep?" -He's enjoying this...- Rain thought, frowning at him.

" _No_, that's not it. Anna and I knew there was no room for us so we told them that we'd find a room to sleep in, then Anna decided to frickin tell me that stupid Kaiba gave her a room so that she could keep his little brother company. That left me to find something on my own, look, I wouldn't have asked but I really didn't want to ask Malik because I don't trust him not to try anything while I'm asleep. I don't know where his sister is or I'd ask _her_ and Rishid's pretending to _be_ Malik so he's out of the question! So..so..." She couldn't even think anymore she was so angry...Not just about the room situation, but Bakura's attitude was driving her _insane_! He raised a brow,

" Why are you worried about Malik doing something while you're asleep?"

" Umm...I'll show you." She grabbed the note from her small bag. "He's already threatened to hurt my friend...Plus he acts weird around me. Remember the park? He was kind of grabby."

" Grabby isn't a word Rain." She rolled her eyes at the remark, but didn't bother saying anything. If he wanted to correct her grammar he could go ahead. Bakura's eyes narrowed when he read the note. "Well...we can't have that."

Rain stared at him, "What? You can't tell me you actually care about my friend's well being." He gave her a look,

" I couldn't care less about _that_, you aren't meeting him after the duel."

It took Rain a moment to register his meaning, "_What?!_ I am so! You don't have any say in it!"

"I don't think so, no. He's obviously felt your power, so I'm sure he wants you to cooperate with him so he can win. Besides that, you're beautiful and I won't have you being anywhere _near_ him. Him and I are going to have a pleasant little chat, he's overstepped his boundaries."

" W-What?" Rain ogled him for a moment, "Did you just say I'm beautiful?" -no one's _ever_ called me beautiful before...gah!- She blushed as she saw his eyes travel over her body, she felt exposed in that moment, which was silly because she was fully clothed. Then she remembered that last dream she'd had, which made her blush deepen to scarlet. "Hey! Don't look at me like that!" He gave her a blank look,

"Like what?"

"Like you're...you're undressing me with your eyes!"

"Hngh...I don't know what you're talking about." He looked amused, his eyes were dark though. "You're sleeping in my room Rain, that way I can be sure that no one else will harm you."

"Um...since when did you care if someone hurts me? I mean, aren't you the one who wants to hurt me the most? So what do you care if Malik decides to use me for his stupid plans." Rain was getting more confused by the minute, he was sending so many mixed signals that Rain didn't know _what_ to think. One moment he looked like he wanted to just...well, jump on her or something, the next he looked like he wanted to kill her. She felt like she was on an emotional overload, a big mix of fear, anxiety, love, lust, and hurt. It was hurting her that she was afraid of him. She was a very confused girl. Bakura grabbed her arms, shoving her into the wall. -Yep, I've somehow pissed him off...the guy needs some serious anger management because I don't even really know what sets him off...Ouch, he's got quite the grip...-

"You just don't get it. You're _mine_, and always will be. If I want to hurt you it's my choice, but if anyone else so much as _touches_ you I will destroy them. I will kill them _slowly_ and make them regret even laying eyes on you." His eyes had a dark fire in them, bordering on insanity. "I went three thousand years thinking you were gone forever...you have no idea what it did to me when I saw you on that side walk. I thought I'd lost it, I thought the fates were playing a cruel joke on me, but no...You're here. I will not lose you this time. You're _mine_, and after I punish you for what you've done to me, I will keep you with me forever."

Rain winced as his grip on her tightened, " Now _that's_ a comforting thought... So what are you thinking? Torture? Lots of pain I'm sure, punishment from someone like you certainly wouldn't be anything but. Wish I knew what the hell I did exactly, it really is starting to piss me off that you don't even have the capacity to forgive even after three thousand years." She yelped as he shoved her into the wall again. Rain was getting too irritated to think properly, "That frickin hurt you jerk!"

He scowled at her," That was the point, Idiot." letting go of one arm and dragging her down the hall with the other. They stopped at a door and he swiped his card, practically throwing her in the room before closing the door behind them, Rain had fallen right on her ass and was in the process of getting up when he grabbed her again, throwing her onto the bed.

"Hey! Seriously, I'm not something you can just throw around like a freaking rag doll! Cut it out!" She shouted, sitting up and rubbing her sore arms. Bakura laughed at her, making Rain shiver. -He really is creepy...and now I'm stuck in his room, alone with him...on his bed.- At that thought Rain blushed again, she was doing a lot of that lately. "Well, since you were in such a hurry throwing me in here you left my stuff in the hallway, so if you don't mind I'd like to grab it." He threw her bag at her, Rain didn't even bother thinking about how the heck it was in here, she could have swore she'd seen it sitting on the floor in the hallway while he'd been dragging her here. She set the bag gently down at the foot of the bed before sitting down on the edge of it. Bakura was just staring at her, and it was getting really annoying.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." She growled at him, His smirk got bigger and he chuckled, walking over and sitting next to her. Rain could feel the heat coming from his body making her very aware of how close he was sitting. She glanced at him, he wasn't smirking anymore, but he was still watching her. She had an overwhelming urge to kiss him. -Why not, I'm pretty sure he won't kill me...worst case scenario would be him injuring me in some way...which isn't a big deal, considering what he's capable of... Ahhh, to hell with it…- "Um...Bakura. Would you be mad if I.." She stopped, wondering if it was such a good idea to ask him. He just was so unpredictable... Rain thought for a moment the he was making _her_ almost as unpredictable as he was, this emotional rollercoaster was making her _crazy_.

"If you what?" He rasped in a rough whisper. He was looking at her quizzically. She experimentally lifted her hand to touch his hair. He didn't move, which she figured was a good thing, his hair was very soft, and she found it felt like cool silk. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, backing away quickly as she expected him to hit her or something. He didn't, he placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her close again, "Stupid girl...The one thing you don't need to fear is your own affection, I'd never hurt you for that." He whispered before gently placing his lips on her's. Rain was so surprised at his gentleness that it took her a moment to kiss him back. At that moment, the world could have exploded and she wouldn't have cared. She felt a dizzy sort of exhilaration as he deepened the kiss, she felt like she was falling, drowning in her desire for the darkness that was Bakura. There was electricity in the room, she felt a sensation of rightness, she belonged in his arms like this. Rain felt his hand slide up her back beneath her shirt, shivering as he leaned her back on the bed. He never broke the kiss as he did so, but now his mouth trailed wet kisses down her throat, she gasped when he nipped her neck, his hands were leaving tingling trails along her skin, Bakura smiled as he shoved her bra out of the way and cupped one breast in a rough hand, kneading it. Rain was beyond thinking, she was just feeling now, she arched as she felt his tongue circle a nipple. She felt like she was on fire, she was feeling so many new sensations at once and wanted more, she felt his hand slide into the jeans she was wearing, and gasped in surprise as his fingers brushed against her. Well, it was actually more of a yelp…

"What's wrong?" He asked, Rain was surprised to see a glimmer of concern on his face, it was that moment that reality slammed into her. She was half naked, and the bad guy was very close to having his way with her. She'd never let anyone see her this exposed before, nor had she ever lost control over herself like that...She blushed, sitting up and dislodging his hand from her pants.

"I...um....I can't believe this..."

He was looking irritated now, "Can't believe what? It's not like we've never..." His eyes widened for a moment, "Oh...I guess technically we haven't..."

She gave him an are-you-really-that-stupid- look. "Yeah...uh...I'm a virgin, obviously...."

He stared at her, then to Rain's surprise he smiled, "Good...I'm glad no one's touched you."

"...I wish you didn't think of me as a belonging." Rain grumbled as she fixed her bra and put her shirt back on, she went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. There was a small love bite near her collar bone that would be impossible to miss without a jacket. "Damn it, did you _have_ to make it obvious that I've been screwing around?!"

Bakura entered the bathroom, then shrugged, smirking slightly, "Yes."

"You're such a bloody cave man." She grumbled, turning to leave, he grabbed her wrist and held her there, his crimson tinted eyes boring a hole in her soul.

"Rain, we aren't finished. Frankly I don't know why we stopped."

"Uh, because I don't want to lose my virginity right this minute to someone who hates me?" Rain answered sarcastically. He shook his head,

"Does it really matter what you want?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, Rain tried to dislodge herself from his grip but the effort was pointless,

" If you think you can _rape_ me you'd better think again. If you ever do, I'll hate you. I'll kill myself." She said it with conviction, Bakura sighed against her hair.

"I'd never do that to you...but I doubt it will be hard to seduce you. Not hard at all considering that a moment ago you were putty in my hands." She twisted to face him, glaring.

"You're a jerk, you know that right? I _love_ you. If your punishment includes making me feel like you just want to use me, you're doing a bang up job Tomb robber! You make me wish I could hate you, but it's not possible. Ra knows I've tried. You don't seem to understand how it feels to love someone who only wants to hurt you and who is quite possibly insane. You want me to remember doing something that made you hate me, you want me to suffer...but I have a feeling I already did."

" Rain...I'm not--." Rain heard him speak, but the world seemed to fade away and she collapsed into his arms.

Bakura looked down at Rain's limp body in shock.

"What the hell?!" He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently. One moment they'd been talking, if one could call Rain ranting at him for treating her badly talking, the next she'd collapsed in his arms (If he hadn't been standing where he was she would have gotten one hell of a bump on her head.) He'd tried to rouse her but nothing was working. Bakura sighed, he _maybe_ felt a little bad for hurting he, but at the same time it gave him a fierce sort of pleasure that he alone had the power to cause her pain so easily. He found his eyes traveling over her prone form, thinking about how much she looked like her former self. _Everything_ was the same and he hadn't realized how much he had truly missed her until now. Maybe he was being too harsh on her, maybe when she remembered everything she would have a good explanation for the way things turned out. He wouldn't admit it now, but he did love her still, and always would. They were soul mates after all, and it disgusted a part of him to even think of _that_. Part of him was determined to keep his heart hardened, love was a weakness that he didn't want to deal with. Deep inside he knew though, that he was truly doomed. No matter how much he didn't want to love the unconscious girl in front of him, his need for her would never go away. He looked at the time, they had half an hour before the duellists were to gather in the main hall...he hoped she'd wake up by then.

Rain was falling through a star filled tunnel, she saw herself three thousand years ago at the end, Rayana smiled sadly as Rain came to a stop in front of her.

"Hello."

Rain stared for a moment, "Um, aren't you me?"

"Yes, I'm part of you...think of me as part of your subconscious giving you a message."

"What message?"

Rayana sighed, "You want to know how we died at the end of that life...you wanted to know something that can help you show Bakura that you've always loved him."

"You can show me?"

"Yes."

"Let's do it then."

Rayana nodded, then Rain was pulled into a memory...

Rayana sighed, looking down at her swollen belly. She'd never been able to tell him that he was to have a child...she'd lost both him and her brother at the same time on that day two and a half seasons ago, both were just souls now, trapped in two sennen items. She'd been three months pregnant. Tears fell down her face, she'd thought she was done crying for them, but that wasn't so. She knew she would grieve forever, even after death. She had met and lost her one true love. There was no recovering from that...

"Rayana, the items are ready. Are you sure about this princess?" Set was watching her sadly, she nodded.

"It's the only way to ensure that people can be at peace, my power...there are many who would like to use it for evil means, Bakura wasn't able to take it, but I'm worried Marik will not let me live if he doesn't succeed, and I'm supposed to die from complications after my child is born anyway so this will work out well. To trap my soul in one of the many other realms I must die, I know the incantation and with my power mixed with the sennen items it should be enough to do it. You know Marik is after my power and we must ensure he never gets it. He tried already, remember?"

"Isis' brother is already doomed to die for that, our only task is to catch him." Set spoke with anger burning in his voice, remembering finding Rayana bruised and beaten those few months ago. She had never revealed exactly what Marik had done, just that she wanted him dead for it. The priests had been lucky to save both her and the baby, Rayana had been on bed rest for weeks.

Rayana visibly shuddered at the thought of Marik, he had nearly cost her the child she carried. If she hadn't fought back like she had then...well, she didn't want to dwell on it. -I'm going to die tonight...I pray that my child will live a good life...he'll be the only heir of royal blood to take the throne...- She walked behind Set, to the room where the rest of the priests were waiting, there was a bed in the middle of the room and Rayana laid down on it. Ishizu gave her a potion to help begin the birthing process and they waited. It didn't take long for the first pains to begin, the men were forced to leave the room and Rayana endured her pain in silence. She lost track of time, it felt like forever before her child was born, Isis took him and washed him in a basin nearby before wrapping him in a small blanket and putting him in Rayana's arms.

"There you go princess, you have a son." They shared a sad smile, and Rayana held the baby and watched him as he cried for a few moments, her heart swelling with love and sadness as she knew she would not see him grow up...she'd miss so much...tears spilled freely down her cheeks as she looked at her little boy, he reminded her so much of his father. His pale hair was nearly invisible on his small head, but his blue eyes shined with life as he looked up at her. She looked at Isis, feeling very weak as she did so.

"His name...I'm going to name him Akefiankhenet, Akefia if he likes it shortened...That was his father's first name...I know he went by Bakura, but..."

"I know Princess...We must hurry if we are to do this..." She didn't continue, Rayana handed her son to the wet nurse who would take care of him, whispering words of her love for him as she did so. "Oh, my son...I'm sorry that you'll grow up to be an orphan, but it will be ok. I will always think of you...wherever I am...and your father...he...he was a great man, despite how things turned out, I hope you have at least a small part of his greatness...I want you to have the love he never got growing up." She looked at Isis as she said this, the priestess nodded.

"He will be well cared for and well loved. I give my word."

"Be sure to tell him his mother loves him..." After that, Isis dressed her in a ceremonial robe before the men returned to the room. Set had brought Adina with him, Rayana was surprised by this, he walked over any picked her up to carry her to the ceremonial chambers.

"What's Adina doing here? She should be somewhere else, I don't want her to have to see this..."

"She's volunteered to go with you...as your protector." He spoke through gritted teeth, Rayana gasped at this information but said nothing, she didn't have energy to do anything to stop her friend. She knew that if Set couldn't change her mind then there was nothing she could do anyway. Rayana was handed a ceremonial dagger, smiled grimly at the servant who handed it to her. Adina sat down beside her as Set put her down in the centre of the ceremonial circle. Her eyes were drawn to the sennen ring, but only for a moment. She hoped someday she would see the man she loved again, that he would find the peace he so desperately needed. She knew in her heart that both him and her brother would live again, but she was unsure if it would be the same case for her...either way, she wouldn't be in this world anymore so it didn't matter. Adina smiled at her, holding her own dagger.

"Hey Ray. I know you don't want me to do this, I can see it in your eyes...but you need someone to keep you company where ever you're going. So I'm coming too."

"But you can have a future here Adina. You shouldn't give that up...Besides, this is going to be very painful…"

Her friend still had a smile on her face, she shrugged. "I have a feeling we both still have a future...even if we die here, we're going _somewhere_. Set understands." She frowned slightly, "And you know I can handle the pain."

Rayana gasped as pain shot through her, she didn't have much time left. "Ok, let's begin..." She began the chant that would help take her soul from her body, holding Adina's hand as they both slashed their wrists, letting blood flow into the small bowl in the very centre of the circle. Adina joined her chanting and the items began to glow, the power of the elements flowed around them and Rayana could feel her soul slowly being pulled from her body, even though she'd been prepared for the pain it was nothing like she had ever experienced before, it was hard to keep the chant going but somehow she did it, trying to tune out her friend's final shrieks, only stopping when both her and Adina's bodies lay lifeless on the floor. Her last thoughts before her soul was sucked into oblivion were of her son, and if she would ever know how his life would turn out.

Rain had tears in her eyes as she came out of the memory, back to the tunnel of stars within her mind, Rayana spoke to her softly,

"This soul was not reborn for thousands of years...until now. A second chance to live life as it was meant to be has been given."

" There was more to this than what I just witnessed...Marik was there too? Malik's dark side? He must have been pretty scary for me...uh...us, to take such drastic measures."

Her ancient self nodded, "Be careful around him...He'll want to finish what he started. Technically, he's the one that ultimately caused our death."

" What do you mean?"

" He was part of Bakura's band of thieves...after Bakura was gone he took over, he'd been obsessed with having us both body and soul...and he was heartless, pure evil Rain. He figured that he could take the Power and everything else, he didn't understand why his leader had never succeeded in taking it, he doesn't believe in love, he is completely insane."

Rain rolled her eyes, "Tell me something I don't know. I know Malik's dark side is nuts...he's someone I plan to avoid at all costs...no need to tell me that."

Rayana nodded, and started to fade. " We'll probably never have a conversation again, as I'm part of your consciousness and all...I guess I'll wish myself luck....you'll remember everything soon, though you'll find some things quite terrible...it will hurt..." With that she was gone and Rain was being drawn back through the starry blackness...her eyes snapped open and she sat up, somewhat disoriented. Rain blinked in surprise as she realized Bakura was sitting beside her, he'd moved her to the bed and was watching her closely.

"You're awake."

"hmm..." Rain just stared at him for a moment, "How long was I out?"

"Only for about ten minutes, we need to head to the main hall right shortly, you aren't going to faint again, are you?"

Rain shook her head, he looked like he was struggling with something, Rain sat up slowly, closing her eyes for a moment due to a small amount of dizziness,

"Why are you staring at me Bakura?" She asked, after opening her eyes to find he was still looking at her.

"...you spoke while you were unconscious."

"What did I say?"

"....You just kept saying 'My son' and mumbling incoherently. What exactly did you see, as I'm assuming you had some sort of vision."

"I...I was pregnant."

He glared at her, "So...you got married to another? Of course you had to have...life goes on, right?"

Rain frowned at him, "You idiot, you always assume shit, don't you. As a matter of fact, I saw my death, and the birth of your son."

He stopped glaring, a look of shock coming to his face. "_My _son? I...I had a son?"

"From what I gather from my flashes I keep having, I was about three months pregnant when you and my brother had that final confrontation, I never had the chance to tell you. After you were...gone, something happened...I think Marik kidnapped me or something, I don't know what happened but I got hurt. Ended up on bed rest for a while, and Isis found out that I would die from complications from childbirth. So I decided that the power I had was not safe for this world, and chose to send my soul to another realm."

"...What do you mean?"

"Apparently, right after the baby was born, when I was going to die anyway, I completed a ceremony that took my soul from my body and sent it away. I made it so that my powers wouldn't be reborn in this world, so that it would be a safer place...I knew that people would always want to take it and if Marik had figured out a way to get it and use it, the world was doomed. I guess I figured that if I was dying anyway, it would be better for my son if me and my power was gone. I don't think I anticipated a portal bringing me back."

He took a moment to process the information, he looked almost horrified. "I...So, you didn't even survive a full year after I was gone....and you were alone..."

"Yeah...I had the priests and a friend or two, but...well, I lost both you and my brother on the same day. My old self actually somehow spoke to me...heh, she said that I'm going to remember everything soon."

"What happened to my son?"

" Well, he was to become pharaoh, with priest Set acting as regent until he became old enough to do things himself, I plan on looking up his name to see how things turned out."

Bakura smirked, "My son...pharaoh..." He laughed, "I don't even know what to say."

Rain rolled her eyes, "For once."

"What was his name?"

"Akefiankhenet....It's a mouthful I know."

He blinked, "His name..."

"They were to call him Akefia for short if he wanted."

"You named him after me?"

"Yeah, I guess I figured that if he had your name at least he'd have a little piece of his father. I know it was a past life for me and all, but the memories seem so...raw. Almost like they just happened." Rain shook her head, as though trying to erase the images from her mind, she didn't particularly like watching herself die, even if it was another life. "There was so much pain...I felt the exact moment when I died..." He stood up, gripping a glass from the table and throwing it against the wall, Rain jumped as it shattered, she couldn't see Bakura's face, but she knew he was mad. She stood slowly, putting her hand on his arm cautiously. "Bakura--eek!" Rain squeaked as he suddenly turned around and forced her back onto the bed, his eyes dark.

"Rain...I didn't know. I thought..." He looked lost for a moment, then his eyes hardened, "What exactly did Marik _do_?"

"I don't know...I just know I was terrified of him. All I felt was fear and hatred wherever he was concerned." Rain jumped up, "There's something I have to tell you!"

"What?" He looked at her, surprised at the little outburst.

" He's coming back. Malik, he's been fighting him in his mind for years! He'll lose that fight soon...and I'm hoping he doesn't remember, because he _will_ kill me. I'm certain, I don't know why, but I am."

"Rain, he won't get near you."

"How can you be certain?"

" I'll protect you."

Rain stared at him, dumbstruck. The thief king was offering her protection? Then she shook her head, "You can only protect me if you don't manage to get yourself sent to the shadow realm during the tournament. I'm on my own if that happens..."

He made a face," What about the pharaoh? He was your brother, doesn't he care enough to protect you?" Rain sighed, he must be serious if he's willing to ask if Yami would protect her...It was a sign, perhaps his anger at her was beginning to finally fade.

"The pharaoh has enough on his mind, he's been trying to protect me ever since I showed up in this realm. Though he has no idea that Marik even exists, and he'll have to beat him in the end anyway...I think as long as I try as hard as I can to avoid Malik, I'll be safe from Marik...makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Yes...I suppose." He looked at the time, " We have to go to the Main hall now, or we'll be late."

"Ok..." Rain said quietly as she was lead out of his room and down the hallway, the moment they came into the Main hall Rain could feel everyone's eyes on them, Bakura put on his facade of Ryo before they could notice he was in control, most of the gang had no idea the spirit of the ring was back. Well, half of them anyway, Honda still thought the ring was somewhere in the woods on Pegasus' Island where he'd thrown it away. Just showed how much some people pay attention. Rain distanced herself from Bakura and walked over to Yugi, who was finally in control of his body again.

"Hey Yugi, Yami finally let you have your body back?" He grinned at her, " Yeah, he's so determined to be able to talk to you all the time. He's definitely acting like a big brother, that's for sure."

"I guess he doesn't need his memories to do that, huh." Rain said with a smile,

" Hey Rain, uh...you have a...um.." Anzu looked unsure of what to say, she was slowly turning red. Rain stared at the usually very chipper girl,

"What is it Anz?"

"You have a...mark...on your neck." Rain felt an urge to laugh at the poor girl's expression, then she remembered the little bite mark on her neck...more commonly known as a hickie. She blushed slightly, thankful at Anzu's attempt to not say exactly what it was. She sighed, wishing she'd brought a turtle neck along or something.

" Oh..."

Yugi stared at Rain for a moment, she knew he wasn't stupid, it would take all of three seconds for her brother (sort of) to be given control, she waited, one...two....three, and,

"What in ra's name is that?" the pharaoh all but shouted at her,

" Yami, I know you aren't stupid, I'm sure you can figure it out."

He sputtered for a moment, rubbing his temple, " Just...don't tell me it was Bakura... you can't be that...that _stupid._"

"Ok, I won't" Rain shrugged, trying not to grin at his expression, which was a cross between irritation, anger, worry, and exasperation. She put a hand to the mark self consciously.

"I don't need this Rain, you know I have enough to worry about, I have to save the world from Malik, worry about our friends and hope none of them have to face him, hope no one else loses their souls...and now you're going to make me worry about my damned sister who can't manage to keep her hands off of the man who wants to harm her the most?! Last time I checked you weren't supposed to be doing..._Ra knows what_...with our worst enemy!"

"Then don't worry about it, I'll tell you if I'm in trouble Yami, you know that...so until I come running for help, don't stress yourself out about me. You should give Yugi his body back for a bit though, I don't think it would be fun just chilling in his soul room so much lately...and I wasn't doing Ra knows what!"

He gave her a look, shook his head, then sighed, "Alright, but if the slightest thing happens, I want to know about it." Rain watched with mild amusement as Yugi now looked at her, "Yep, he definitely acts like a big brother."

Rain laughed, "Yeah....that went better than it could have though. I was worried he was going to march over to Bakura and deck him the old fashioned way."

Yugi paused for a moment, "He says it didn't occur to him to do that, but would have had he thought about it."

Rain laughed again.

"Alright everyone, It's time to choose the opponents in the first duel." Kaiba's employee's voice emanated through the room, making everyone's attention drift over to the dais at the end of the room. Rain saw Kaiba smirk and snap him fingers, a bingo machine designed to look like the blue eyes ultimate dragon rose up from the pedestal on the dais. Rain jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Jou, who looked freaked out, he was muttering about Ryo Bakura and his occult deck, Rain giggled slightly, he must have talked to Bakura...he did have a pretty disturbing deck.. Rain turned to look at the bingo machine, they were picking the duellists. They had all been given numbers, Rain watched as one bingo ball came out of one of the dragon's mouths, the first duellist chosen was number six...Ryo Bakura....the next was number three, Yugi Motou. Bakura( still pretending to be Ryo) said something of having the luck to duel yugi first, he was laughing nervously as Jou eyed him, wondering how he'd healed so fast, and being glad that he didn't have to duel him...Kaiba took the moment to explain how the duels would work...and the rules. Then they all proceeded to the arena, Rain wished both Bakura and Yugi good luck before following the others to the second elevator that would bring them to the sidelines to watch. Rain stepped onto the observation deck and shivered, wishing she'd brought a jacket. She glanced at Anzu and Anna, who were both wearing t-shirts and skirts, then was suddenly glad she'd at least worn pants. Bakura and Yugi( who was now Yami) took their places on the duelling platform as Kaiba made a point to explain why they had to duel in the crazy wind and cold temperatures. Rain rolled her eyes,

"Only Kaiba would want duels to be dangerous and painful...can't just have a _normal_ tournament." When the others gave her a look, she amended, "Ok, ok, but it could have been _less_ strange...duelling on top of a blimp a few thousand feet in the air while having to deal with ancient Egyptian magic, the shadow realm, and trying to save the world from Malik and his minions is a little much, don't you guys think?"

"Cause if we didn't have to duel on top of a blimp we'd just have to deal with ancient Egyptian magic, the shadow realm, and trying to save the world?" Jou said with a smirk. " I get your point, but at the same time...I think this is pretty tame compared to the rest."

Rain laughed, "Yeah, yeah." They turned their attention back to the duel, which was about to start.

" I know you aren't our friend! Show yourself, and admit who you are!" Yami shouted at Bakura, Rain sighed as the others(the ones who hadn't clued in yet) made several shocked and frightened noises. Bakura laughed, his hair getting all crazy and his guise of innocence disappearing. There was no mistaking him as the spirit of the ring now, not only because of his appearance, but the sennen ring had materialized on his chest for all to see.

"Rain, you don't seem surprised." Honda said, Anzu rolled her eyes,

"She already knows him Honda."

"How?"

"Well, those of us that have been paying attention since she showed up know that he's been back for a while. You haven't noticed us talking about him at all?!"

"I...I thought you were talking about Ryo."

Rain snorted, but didn't say anything, she touched his mark lightly, wondering how long it would take Honda to put two and two together. aaaand....

His eyes widened slightly, "So...You...You and Him...How could you even _like _him?!" rain groaned, Anzu sighed,

" It's a long story Honda, leave it alone." (She'd asked Rain about it shortly before the finals started)

Malik suddenly appeared behind her, but he was looking at Jou innocently, "What's the big deal about all this? What's going on?"

Rain snorted, but covered it up with a cough as Jou began to explain about the sennen items and the two spirits inhabiting the ring and the puzzle. Rain turned to look at the arena again, Yami was demanding Bakura tell him why he entered in the competition. Bakura just answered by taunting the pharaoh, telling him his friends aren't who they seem. Rain chanced a glance, at Malik who looked irritated, he caught her looking and walked closer to her.

"I just warned him to behave himself...he seems to care for you in some way so I let him know you'll be the one punished for any slip ups he may make...alright? So lets hope he doesn't do anything stupid." He whispered into her ear, Rain shuddered slightly, looking back to Bakura, she could tell he was angry, he caught her eye and frowned slightly. Malik winced, Rain knew they had some sort of mental link going on, she figured Bakura had just yelled at him or something because he stepped away from her slightly. She smirked a bit, jumping slightly as Bakura yelled out the first move in the duel. It was a weak monster, Rain watched as Yami attacked it, bringing Bakura's life points down by two thousand. Rain winced as Bakura summoned two more monsters in attack mode, Yami destroying them all...he was reduced to four hundred and fifty life points, Bakura laughed at that point, Rain shivered, god, he was creepy when he duelled.

"Now Your destruction begins!" He laughed evilly, "I hold a card in my hand with dark powers beyond imagination, but before I could play it I needed you to destroy three of my monsters. Now I can summon my Dark Necrofear!" Rain rolled her eyes slightly as he talked about his card, she could do without so much explanation, too much just made things silly. She jumped as the monster swooped in through the group and materialized on the field. Yugi destroyed dark necrofear with his dark magician girl, with more flourish from both of them. Bakura laughed again, saying that Yugi was playing right into his hands. Now that dark necrofear was in the graveyard he could activate his magic card, Dark sanctuary. The arena was suddenly engulfed in misty shadows, said shadows were filled with creepy eyes and fanged mouths. Rain sighed, she was definitely going to have nightmares about this one...but figured that was normal as the card was supposed to scare the hell out of them. Jou hugged his sister, who looked about ready to cry she was so scared.

"It's alright Shizuka, it's not real." Rain said gently, trying to make the poor girl feel better. She jumped slightly when Bakura laughed again, looking at the field she realized the ghost of dark sanctuary had possessed Yami's monster, making it attack him instead of Bakura. Yami's friends were cheering him on. Bakura played his Ouija Board, explaining that it allowed him to receive messages from lost souls ad that in five turns, it would spell death and the pharaoh would lose. Rain wasn't sure if she wanted to watch anymore...she knew this duel was nearly over...and was glad that Bakura had been smart enough not to make it a shadow duel. She shivered, then remembered her powers. She experimentally warmed the air around her with fire, causing a faint and barely noticeable glow. It worked though, she was warm now. Rain didn't really have time to feel proud of herself because before she had realized it, the pharaoh had managed to summon his god card, Rain watched in awe as the magnificent beast wrapped itself around the blimp.

"Oh my god! It's _huge!_" Jou exclaimed, Rain nodded.

"Slifer the sky dragon...you can feel how powerful he is from here." She muttered in surprise, glancing at Bakura, who looked worried....well, at least _that_ was normal about him, if she was facing slifer like he was she'd piss herself. Suddenly, Rashid stepped foreword and (still pretending to be Malik) told Yami to wait before he attacked Bakura, that he was under the control of the sennen rod and that he planned to use it to release Ryo's mind from the spirit of the sennen ring. Everyone gasped as, within moments, it was now the injured Ryo Bakura who was in the arena, he fell to his knees, clutching his arm and looking confused.

"I...I don't feel well...what's going on?" Yami started towards him but was told by one of Kaiba's suits, named Roland, that if he touched him he would forfeit the duel so he stopped, unsure of what to do. The others were shouting that Kaiba should stop the duel and get Ryo some medical attention. Rain just looked on silently, hating that Bakura would go to such cowardly lengths, but at the same time knowing that Malik had a large part in this., She turned and glared at him, he just smirked and waved his finger at her in a warning to keep her mouth shut and Rain fought the urge to walk over and smack him. She clenched her fists at her sides. After a lot of yelling, Rain knew that the pharoah had made up his mind to attack regardless of the situation...he had to do what he had to do. Suddenly Bakura took over Ryo again, and stood up on the duelling platform, he looked at Rain briefly. She met his eyes and then looked at slifer, then back at him, a tear ran down her cheek and he frowned.

"It's alright Rain. Don't cry, it's just a normal duel. I'm not going anywhere." He spoke quietly to her, and she nodded slightly in response, then he turned to the pharaoh,

"I'll admit I lost this time. Go ahead, Attack me! I won't let your friend die."

Yami attacked and Bakura took it with a laugh, and Rain covered her eyes against the intense light of the dragon's attack, when she opened her eyes it was Ryo lying on the field, looking exhausted, but conscious. As yugi was announced as the winner he took control again and the others climbed up to the duelling platform to Ryo. His eyes met Rains and widened slightly,

"Who...who are you?"

Rain smiled sadly at him, " Just a friend." She sighed as Honda picked the poor boy up and carried him to his room, she followed behind, but not before grabbing the Ring, before anyone else noticed, she slipped the slim chain around her neck, the ring resting beneath her shirt. It felt abnormally warm, almost hot, she figured it was from slifer's blast, since the spirit had taken the brunt of it. The others crowded around Ryo's bed as Rain slipped into the room and sat by the window. She looked out at the clouds and the ocean beneath them, wondering for the first time about if her parents were ok. She knew they would be worried, she'd been gone at least a month, she realized and was overcome by a bout of homesickness.

"Hey Rain, you ok?" Yugi had come up next to her, she shrugged.

"I'm alright...I just kind of miss my family back home...I don't think I'll ever see them again and it's...hard."

He gave her a little hug, "I'm sure there's some way to contact them...if there is, I promise we'll find it." Then he tilted his head slightly, "So...you aren't mad that Yami and I won the duel? And that Bakura was probably working with Malik?"

Rain stared at him, then laughed. "Why on earth would I be mad that you won?! The world is at stake, and you and the pharoah are supposed to save it. You wouldn't be able to do that if you lost in the first round of the finals, now would you? And Malik and Bakura working together? Yeah, very likely since they had similar goals, but now that Bakura lost that dual against you that's probably not quite the case anymore."

" Well, I know you care about the spirit of the ring and all...so I thought you'd be upset."

Rain shrugged, "You know him, he always comes back, and he wasn't sent to the shadow realm or anything...he's just nursing his wounds and whatnot in the ring, I mean, he may be a spirit but that god card of yours packs one hell of a punch. He's probably out cold."

Yugi smiled, "Ok...well, try not to worry about your family...we'll find a way to at least contact them, ok? Oh...and they said the next dual will start in about half an hour."

Rain nodded, sitting her head on her knees and staring out the window again as Yugi wandered back over to the others and they filtered out of the room. Ryo needed his rest, and they thought it was best that they leave him alone for now.

A few moments after they all had gone, Rain moved to sit down at the edge of the bed...she felt horrible for the poor guy...he spent so much time possessed by Bakura that he didn't even get to live his life like he should. She moved to stroke his hair from his eyes when they opened, making her freeze, then pull back her hand.

"S-sorry!" She squeaked, he just smiled weakly at her.

"It's ok...so...what's your name?"

"Uh...I'm Rain..."

"Oh...You have a nice name..." She blushed at the compliment, Ryo was so angelic, he was as light as Bakura was dark. Though he _was _sort of his reincarnation...so maybe a part of Bakura's soul, the innocent part, had somehow ended up part of Ryo? Rain stopped herself, before she started confusing herself, as she knew she would.

"Thank you. How are you feeling?"

He winced as he tried to adjust himself, Rain moved to help him and he smiled at her in thanks,

"I could be better..."

Rain sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Why? You didn't do anything." Then he stared at her for a moment, "Actually, what is your role in all this? You and Yugi seem to be close."

"It's a really long story..."

He smiled sweetly, "I'm not going anywhere."

Rain cocked her head to the side, "Well...I can tell you a little I guess, but you need your rest and I don't want you to strain yourself...so let me know if I should stop." When he nodded she continued, "Ok, well, first off...Do you know about past lives and what not? Or about the spirits?"

"Yeah...somewhat...I know Yugi has the spirit of a pharaoh in the sennen puzzle and that the spirit of the ring has been using my body to get around...which is why I have so many blank patches in my memory, and keep getting hurt and not remembering it.." He looked pointedly at his arm and Rain sighed,

"Well...you see, I had a past life...and I was the pharoah's sister..."

His eyes brightened with interest, "That's interesting. How did you find out?"

"Well, I'm from another realm....yeah, I know that sounds crazy, but I'm from another place and went through a portal to get here...I thought it was an accident, but apparently I was supposed to come here...cause apparently I'm from here in the first place...you see, I have this power... I can create and control elements, all but darkness and I sent my own soul away to keep others safe from anyone trying to use them for evil."

"How do you know so much about it?"

"I have these flashbacks...they're pretty scary actually..."

He was silent for a moment, then he spoke softly, " Did you have a family? In your past life I mean? I just find these sort of things fascinating."

"Uh...well...not _really_.. I know I had a son, he was born right before I died..."

"How do you know that?" The curiosity was evident in his voice,

"I...saw my death."

"Oh...That must have been hard for you...I couldn't imagine that..." He paused, "If you had a child, weren't you married?"

Rain shook her head, "I was kidnapped by the king thieves, and during my captivity, I fell in love with him...Sadly, I _still_ love him in this life, but he's been so twisted by his eternal quest for revenge that I don't know if I can change him in time to save him...he'll lead to his own destruction if he keeps up what he's doing." Rain stopped her mini rant, remembering who she was talking to. Not that he knew the spirit of the ring was said king of thieves. Then he asked the dreaded question,

"Oh...who is he? Have I met him?"

Rain faltered, unsure of what to tell him. " If I tell you, promise you won't get upset? I'll say again, I don't condone what he's doing at all."

"Why would I be upset? Is he that bad of a person? Does he know who he was in the past too?"

"Uh...well, you see...he's not a reincarnation of the king of thieves...He's the original."

Ryo's eyes widened in surprise. "Is he..."

Rain sighed, "He's the spirit of the ring Ryo, the pharaoh's greatest enemy."

Ryo stared for a moment in shock, then smiled, to Rain's baffled surprise. "You thought I'd be upset by that? I'm glad he's not pure evil, at least now I know he has to at least have a little good in him, because if he didn't, you wouldn't love him. It's not hard to tell, you're a nice person...plus, I'm pretty sure he saved me when I woke up in the middle of that duel. Otherwise I don't think I would have blacked out again."

Rain smiled, " Yeah...uh...Thank you." Then she looked at the time, jumping to her feet, "Ok, you need to sleep Ryo. You need to rest, so I'm going to go rest on the couch by the window, get better, ok? If the spirit takes control of you again...well, I'll tell him to be nice to you...no more hurting you...I wish he had his own body, actually that's what I'm aiming for anyway, if I can save him from himself I will ask the gods for that...to give him another chance at life." The young man nodded sleepily,

"Thank you Rain...I'm sure we'll be good friends."

Rain went and sat down for a moment, then thought better of it. She checked the time again, ten minutes to the next duel, she figured they were probably picking opponents now, so she made her way to the Main hall, finding the rest of the group. She stared at Jou and Honda, who were gorging themselves at the buffet table.

"Well, they're not going to feel well later." She muttered, Mai appeared beside her,

"you got that right hon. How are you? Haven't really gotten to know you that well." Rain smiled at the woman,

" I'm pretty good, yeah. You've probably noticed I'm not that great of a conversationalist."

She nodded, then smirked, "We'll fix you eventually though, after the tournament maybe me, you, your friend Anna, and Anzu can all go shopping or something, have a girls night! ~_^ How's that sound?"

Rain smiled, "Sure Mai, sounds like fun!"

"Oh, you should have seen the boys earlier, they barged in on Kaiba demanding to get Ryo to a hospital! He was so mad!" She giggled, "But yeah, he eventually caved...well, sort of anyway, he's letting his own on board medical staff look at the kid. He's in good hands, I'm still not sure what happened."

Rain fought the urge to laugh, it was amazing how many people could see magic and what not first hand and have no idea it exists.

"hey rain." Yugi bounded up to her and she grinned at him, "Hey Yugi, how's it going? I heard Kaiba's going to let his own medical staff look at Ryo. He's a nice guy, we talked briefly before I ordered him to go to sleep, I could tell he was really struggling to stay awake." Yugi nodded,

"And the sennen ring disappeared again, so Honda and Otogi are going to keep an eye out for it." Rain felt a little guilty, but didn't say anything. She knew that if they knew she had it they would probably try to take it from her.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting Otogi's here, I don't think I've been formally introduced properly to him, even though he's been wandering around with our little group for a while now. Heh, guess that just means I've been extra scatter brained lately, huh."

"No, it just means you have a lot on your mind right now, it's perfectly ok to forget things and what not." Yugi said, with a little grin. Rain smirked, giving him a playful little push,

"So says the guy who has to save the world. Compared to you and Yami, my stress is nothing. I shouldn't complain."

He shrugged, "It's not so bad. But yeah, you missed a lot of action. Jou and Otogi nearly fell off the blimp, but said they were saved by a ghost...which turns out to be Shadi...Jou got really freaked out, you'd think he's superstitious or something."

Rain grinned, " And he always acts so tough...Hey, where's Anzu?" He looked around, then shrugged. "She'll probably be here soon."

"Hmm...Alright, I'll be right back." Rain had a hunch as to where their friend had gone, She turned around and Ran out of the room, into the hallway, suddenly slamming into something and being sent sprawling across the floor. "Ow!" She grabbed her head, then looked up and felt her heart stop beating. -Do I always have to run into the bad guys like that?-

"Hello Rain. I was just looking for you." Malik said, before grabbing her arm before she had a chance to bolt and hauling her to her feet, dragging her into his room and shoving her into a chair, he circled her, making Rain feel like she was in some sort of crime show in an interrogation room, Rain winced as he gripped her wrist, she glared at him.

"What do you want? And let go of my hand."

"Where's the ring Rain?" He ignored her and tightened his grip on her wrist. _Ohhh...that's it...you asked for it..._

Rain focused on her fire and felt her wrist heat up, flames danced up her hand and he yelped as they reached his flesh, ripping his hand away from her wrist, she grinned and crossed her arms across her chest, "I don't know. From what I've noticed, it tends to disappear at random."

He examined his hand, then looked at her. "You burn me again and you'll regret it." Then he smirked, "I think you have the sennen ring."

"Why would you think that?"

"Just a hunch, and usually I'm right...I sent little Anzu looking for it after the duel and saw you were the last one to leave the Arena."

Rain scowled, "Oh, so _that's_ where she disappeared off to. You're controlling her mind again. Can't you do anything yourself?"

Ignoring her comment, he leaned down to her level, looking her in the eye. "You can just hand over the ring now, _or_ I can search you for it. You have the choice."

Rain glared at him, "You touch me and I can do a lot more than burn you."

A smile spread onto his face, "You use your powers on my again, and I will make sure your friends suffer _dearly_ for it. You don't want that now, do you?"

"You wouldn't live long enough to hurt _anybody_, you prick." Part of Rain's mind was telling her to shut the hell up before she got sent to the shadow realm, but her temper was too great and she couldn't help but talk back to him. How _dare_ he threaten her! But Rain knew she was stuck, so she took a few deep breathes and tried to calm herself before she tried something _really_ stupid. She was only distracted for a moment, but it was long enough for Malik to have the sennen rod's dagger unsheathed and at her neck. She froze, her breath stopping short. - Gahhh!!! Oh my God, sharp…very, very sharp….- Rain let her eyes move back to Malik, who was looking at her impatiently.

"Look Rain, I don't _want_ to hurt you, besides, I don't have time for this. You're a nice girl, which really confuses me, because I don't know why someone like _you_ would have this obvious attachment to the sennen ring. Not only that, but the spirit of the ring seems to have laid some sort of claim on you…" He shook his head, "It's bizarre. Look, just hand it over to me, ok? I won't _hurt _the bloody thing."

Rain jumped slightly as the door opened, the dagger's blade nicking her throat, making her wince. It was just Anzu…or, to be correct, possessed Anzu, who came in and looked at the scene blankly. Rain glared at Malik again.

"I'm not going to bother filling you in on who I am and why I'm _attached, _as you call it, to the sennen ring. But I will correct you. It's not the _ring_ I'm worried about." Rain leaned her head as far from the dagger as she could, and sighed, "Can you please put away that damned thing? I swear on my soul that I won't use my powers on you for at least an hour, ok? Is that enough for you? I mean, considering I know the spirit of the ring pretty well, I'm getting used to witnessing quite a bit of insanity and crazy violent mood swings but I'm getting sick of how often people have been demanding things of me. You do know, we can talk like civilized human beings, right?" He slowly lowered the dagger and sheathed it, Rain stared at the rod while she rubbed the spot where he had nicked her on ther neck, it was bleeding, but not badly. "See, you cut me!"

"No, you cut yourself. If you hadn't moved at all you would have been fine." Rain gave him a look, then shook her head.

"Whatever. Look, even if I were to give you the ring, as I said before, it really does tend to disappear at random, and it _always_ somehow seems to end up back with Ryo Bakura. By the way, those of us who tend to come in contact with the spirit a lot call him Bakura, and we call that poor boy in the other room Ryo. Better than calling him 'spirit' all the time, I mean, if he's got a name, you should really use it."

He nodded slightly, then smirked, "So, if it always comes back to the young man in the other room, then you shouldn't have a problem with me holding onto it for now."

Rain frowned at him, then rolled her eyes, "Ugh…whatever. But I'll kill you if you do anything to it. I mean that, if _anything_ happens to Bakura at _your_ hands, I will give you more pain than you ever thought possible. Just a fair warning, ok?" She spoke with such conviction as she pulled the ring out from under her shirt that he stared wide eyed at her for a moment, before nodding slowly.

" I wouldn't have thought you capable of even speaking such a dark threat so truthfully." He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, "Who _are_ you Rain? Where are you in the great web of fate that has tied us all together?"

Rain smiled a secret smile, "Maybe I'll be able tell you when this is all over, because in truth….I'm really not sure."

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Bah!!!! That was such a long chapter! OMG! Was it any good at all? I'm trying really hard to get better at this, so I need lots of feedback people!!! No flames, please and thank you! Don't worry, I'm trying not to focus on the duels, and Rain isn't super into that part, so I won't be too descriptive when it comes to those.


	5. Chapter 5

_WooHoo!! Chapter five! And Marik shall appear, I must warn you, I'm feeling the need to make him worse than he is in the actual story…not sure if I'll manage it, but I can try! _

_Bakura: -glares at EgyptianSoul, who smirks- -Sigh- EgyptianSoul does not own Yu-gi-oh or any characters or objects she may use in her story aside from Rain and Anna. _

_Alright! Read away! And Review please! No flames!_

………………………………_**.......................................................................................................**_

**Chapter five: Oh No….**

After Rain had left Malik's room, Anzu had been given the ring to hold on to (little did she know) and was released from his control shorty after her and Rain had started down the hallway, she looked mildly confused but didn't say anything. Rain smiled as they walked into the main hall, the next duelists had been already picked as Malik slunk into the room behind the two girls. It was going to be Jou against Malik Ishtar aka Rishid pretending convincingly. Rain sighed, glancing back at the smirking Malik, knowing his alter ego would appear soon…hoping that he wouldn't know who she had been three thousand years ago, she doubted she'd come away from this unscathed whether he remembered her or not though, she just had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Everyone made their way to the arena, Jou and Rishid were already on the duelling platform and had begun shuffling each other's decks. Rain almost smiled at the how into it Jou was, he glared fiercely at Rishid as he shuffled for a tad longer than he should, thus making Roland, or guy-in-suit-that-worships-Kaiba tell him that he's shuffled enough. Rain joined the others in cheering him on, she tried to let herself enjoy the duel, it was fierce and when Rishid summoned the copy of the winged dragon of Ra she gasped at the sheer size and brightness of the beast, but something went terribly wrong when Rishid attempted to attack, the sennen items began to glow and lightning began to strike all around them, Rain heard Ishizu mutter something about the gods being angered. Rain cringed, she'd been afraid of being struck by lightning when she'd been a child, so this was _kinda_ unnerving.

"Forgive me, Master Malik." Rishid gasped as the lightning struck him and he fell to the ground, Jou moved to go to him but was struck down as well.

"If he wasn't Malik…then who is?" Yugi asked, Rain turned to see Malik clutching his head. It was happening, she though as fear struck her heart. She turned back around to see Jou standing up and being announced as the victor or the duel, then she turned back to look at Malik while taking a step back, Ishizu caught her eye and gasped slightly, before moving towards her.

"Rain, you need to leave." Rain gave her a questioning look, "Uh, why?"

"You are in grave danger, I've had a vision just now." Rain sighed, closing her eyes,

"I know. I can handle it." she knew that Rishid had just told the other's the truth, because the were now all looking toward Malik who was still clutching his head. Ishizu looked surprised.

"What?"

"I know that if this dark spirit who is taking over your brother recognizes me, I'm screwed. You were right when you told me I may start seeing flashbacks and getting memories back. It started happening almost right away." Rain gave the older woman a look, "Y'know, I'd give anything for a nice pleasant dream, some of these flashbacks are scary as hell."

"Please be careful. I really think you should run and lock yourself away somewhere he won't see you before--" She was cut off by insane laughter as the sennen eye showed up on Malik's forehead and his hair suddenly shot out, he looked exactly as he had in the breif glimpse Rain had seen in her memory. There was a collective gasp as he turned to face the group.

" Ahahaha!! I'm finally free and now I'll do this my way! Malik was far too weak, not nearly cruel enough to do the job he set out to do, but I'll do that and more!!!" He went on a big speal about the whole situation, how only certain people could control the god cards, that Kaiba was one of them. Then Rain shivered as his eyes suddenly fell on her, his eyes widened in twisted surprise, and he laughed chillingly again, walking towards her with a smile on his face. "Hello Rayana sweetheart! We meet again…" Rain backed up but as she felt the raining at the edge of the platform she could go no farther or she'd fall to her death. He walked up to her and gripped her chin roughly, Rain glared at him defiantly as the others yelled at him in anger and surprise. Rain could hear Anna's voice among them,

"Leave her the hell alone you asshole! You've got no right to touch her!" At that he paused, glancing over at Rain's angry friend, Rain couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for Anna, because she hadn't thought her friend would stand up to Marik of all people, with no magical protection whatsoever.

"Ah, I remember you. You're her little friend aren't you. Funny how history repeats itself, are you to die with her this time around as well? Best have a care as to how you speak to me or you may find yourself in the shadow realm long before she will."

Anna glared at him, but said nothing. He just smirked.

"Don't you dare do anything to her." Rain growled at him, yelping slightly when he leaned her backwards over the railing.

"It would be so easy for me to kill you right now, don't give me a reason to do so as that _would_ put a dent in my plans."

"Get away from her! She has nothing to do with you or any of this!" Yami shouted angrily, marik chuckled,

"Oh…but she does. Of course, even if you did have your memories pharoah, you wouldn't know that. Do you remember me princess?" His deep voice rolled over her like low thunder. She felt a chill up her spine.

"No. Let go of me." She hissed, but he'd already seen it in her eyes, Rain had always been unable to lie very well, and he laughed,

"I wasn't able to finish what we started, but now you aren't as strong as you once were." He said it with a confident smirk, and Rain was aware of the other's confusion. She wasn't sure exactly what Marik had tried to do, but she knew it wasn't good. She glared at him, and sent a force of wind as strong as she could at him, sending him flying several meters away. She pushed herself away from the railings,

"I may not be as strong as I once was, but I'm strong enough you bastard." she shouted as he stood up off the floor, dusting himself off,

"Foolish girl, you have no idea what I can do to you, and you won't be on guard forever."

As he turned to leave, he smirked, "I will have you my dear, body, mind, and soul. And I will enjoy it immensely." Rain felt that chill shoot up her spine at his words, she shuddered and Yami came over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Anna touched her arm,

"I'm sorry I didn't say more to defend you...He's scarier in person than I ever thought he'd be."

Rain touched her friend's hand gently, "I was terrified you were going to get yourself sent to the shadow realm, if you said anymore, that's what probably would have happened. I don't want you losing your soul for my sake, Anna. I'm so happy you stood up for me though, and technically I suppose you are my protector...but until we know what exactly you can protect me from...It probably won't be wise for you to confront Marik or anything like that too much, ok? Promise me you won't get yourself hurt on my account?"

Anna sighed, "Rain, you're my best friend. I can't make a promise like that, because anything can happen. I can promise to try not to get hurt, how about that? You don't have to worry about me hunting down Marik and challenging him directly, because he scares the shit out of me. Did you see those muscles?! He could use me like a mop and wipe the floor with me!"

Rain rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly, "Yes, I saw the muscles...believe me, I felt em too...not a pleasant experience being nearly tipped off the blimp and into the ocean." Anna squeezed her friend's hand before letting go, Rain could hear a faint beep and her friend lifted a phone out of her pocket.

"I'll be back in half a sec, Kaiba's just texted me."

Rain stared, "Kaiba _texted_ you?!" She looked on as Anna pranced away, then sighed softly.

"Are you alright?" She shook her head, and he growled, "He won't come near you Rain, I swear. Do you remember him? Do you know what he was talking about?"

Rain nodded, "Yeah, but not all of it. His name is Marik. I know that after you were gone, he kidnapped me, he used to be Bakura's second in command, and was obsessed. I don't know exactly what he tried to do, and I don't want to remember that…I just know I got away, but was hurt badly. So bady, that I was on bedrest, and when I had my child, the complications were fatal."

He sighed, " I'm sorry Rain." Rain looked at him,

" It's not your fault that I'm a crazy-evil-guy-that-wants-to-take-over-the-world magnet."

He gave her a look, "But I wasn't there to help you back then."

" That was a whole other lifetime Yami, and you were stuck in the puzzle. I would never hold it against you for not being there. Besides, I don't even know how exactly things happened." Rain paused, " Don't worry about me Yami, you have enough to think about. I'll just try really hard to avoid the psycho bastard."

" …I'm still going to worry about you." Rain gave him a hug,

"Ah, well. Just…try to relax a bit, ok? Don't think about it too much because you need to focus if you want to defeat him."

"Yes…" He smiled slightly at her, then they went to follow the others, who were now heading down to…well, Rain wasn't sure who's room they were going to. Anna suddenly popped into existence beside Rain, making her jump about a foot. Anna laughed, "Sorry Rain!" Then she gave Rain a confused look,

"So…What _was_ Marik talking about?"

"Well, In one of my flashbacks, I was kidnapped by Marik…he'd been Bakura's second in command, and with both Bakura and Yami gone…well, he decided that I was his or something like that. I don't know, or want to know exactly what he did, I just know that I got away. He was sentenced to be caught and killed but I don't know how things happened after that. He obviously remembers and…yeah…so I'm scared." Rain explained the rest of her flashback to her friend as they walked. When she was finished Anna was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wow…Rain, you are the unluckiest girl I've ever known." Anna said, then put her arm around her friend, " Kaiba said he wants to be alone for a bit, cause he's pissed about what Marik was saying to him. You know how he is, the world's biggest sceptic, but yeah, I can stay with you for a bit if you want."

Rain smiled, "Thanks Anna, but if something happens…you have to go get help. Don't try to be a hero, ok?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Fine, but I'm not making any promises." Rain hugged her friend. They just sat around for a bit talking until it was announced that the next duel would be Mai vs. Marik, Rain knew how it would end and didn't want to watch so she told the others to go ahead, she wanted to check on Bakura. Rain, because she really was the most unlucky person in the world happened to run into Marik on her way to Bakura's room. She attempted to run past him, but he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, smirking at her.

"What's the hurry, Rayana?"

"My. Name. Is. Rain." She growled at him as he backed her up against the wall, running his fingers down her cheek, she flinched at his touch.

"Rain…a lovely name. I bet you're excited to see me my dear." Rain just glared at him, jerking her head away from his hand.

"Never. You make me sick."

He laughed, gripping her arms and holding her in place, Rain tried not to wince at how hard he was squeezing, knowing he wanted to see the pain he caused. He placed a kiss beneath her ear. " Oh, that's too bad…because I'm very excited to see you." He purred, making Rain shudder.

"Bastard, you're lucky I don't blast you off this damn blimp." Rain spat at him, he chuckled,

" But you don't was to hurt little Malik's body…besides, you could accidentally make the blimp crash into the ocean and nobody wants that…and then there's the fact that if you burn me or anything like that, I will play with all of your little friends." He smirked, his face mere inches from hers, Rain cursed mentally, wishing she could fight him somehow, but she knew this wasn't an empty threat and she refused to endanger her friends any more than they already were. She glared angrily, a small gust of wind appeared as her temper flared, it didn't go unnoticed. He grinned, "Still a little spitfire I see. Best be careful, we don't want your power to go haywire and kill us all." Rain didn't bother saying anything, she wondered if she could focus her power on someone she couldn't see and call for help, then she shook the thought from her head, she wasn't nearly powerful enough to do that yet. She gasped in shock as Marik suddenly swooped down and kissed her brutally, harsh enough to bruise her lips and make her taste blood. Rain focused on the pain from him squeezing her arms to death instead of what he was doing to her mouth. She wanted to gag, and felt nauseous as he finally released her from his grasp, a satisfied smirk on his face, "Heh…Unfortunately I have a duel to win, I'll be seeing you later." Rain could hear the threat lacing words and sank to her knees after he'd disappeared around a corner, she wished she'd taken self defence classes like her mother had suggested back at home, when she'd had to walk home from work at night, but she'd figured that it would be very unlikely to ever be attacked by anyone and had said it would be a waste of money. She felt tears come to her eyes and covered her face with her hands, wishing she could have fought back, but the bastard had been right. There was no way she could use her powers fully on the blimp without the fear of crashing it and getting everyone killed, and she couldn't do much to him for fear of hurting Malik, and he'd been through enough, she didn't want him to suffer anymore than he already had to.

"Rain?! Are you alright?" Rain looked up in surprise to see Ishizu standing over her, looking very concerned. Rain wiped her eyes and stood up.

"I…I'm ok." Suddenly the older woman's eyes landed on her arms,

"What happened? You're bruising up." Rain looked down at her arms, shocked to see red marks and dark bruises forming where Marik had gripped her arms, she gasped, "Oh…" She knew Ishizu wanted the explanation, she shivered, "I ran into Marik…he…well…He knows I cant really use my power on him because he's in your brother's body and so…yeah.." She didn't want to go into detail, because in truth Marik scared the hell out of her. She touched her lips, wishing she could scrub the kiss away. A thought popped into her head, "Oh my Ra Ishizu! What if Bakura gets the wrong idea?!"

Ishizu's eyes widened, "But you haven't done anything, he merely threatened you, right? Wouldn't bruises on your arms show him you were attacked?"

"Yeah but…Bakura's got a strange way of thinking."

"It will be ok…I was heading to the duelling arena to watch, would you like to come?"

Rain shivered, "I can't…I want to see Bakura…the others will understand."

Ishizu nodded, then left as Rain continued to Bakura's room, she noticed a figure standing beside the bed, then realized it was Anzu.

"Hey! What on earth are you doing?" She shouted as Anzu kneeled beside Bakura'a bed, when she heard Anzu, she turned.

"Rain, It's me, Malik. I need Bakura's help to get my body back." Rain eyed the possessed Anzu as she walked up to the bed.

" I don't want him to fight Marik."

" Why the hell not?"

"Because, if he loses, I'll be stuck with Marik who scares the shit out of me."

"Yes…I saw that little episode after he took over. What was that all about?"

Rain shrugged, "Your psycho dark half is actually a spirit. He kidnapped me three thousand years ago after the pharoah and Bakura were gone…I think he's a tad obsessed actually."

Malik possessed Anzu stared at her for a moment, "So…who were you?"

"The pharoah's sister… at the time I was pregnant with Bakura's child, my name was Rayana." Rain sighed, she'd figured it was ok to tell him now because he wasn't the bad guy anymore.

"…you were the one with the power of the Balance? And how in Ra's name did you end up pregnant with Bakura's child if you were the princess?!"

Rain rolled her eyes, "It's a long story…." She paused, "and did you think people who could control elements just randomly show up all the time? I would think you would know about me having the power right away."

"Don't be sarcastic." Then he turned back to Bakura, placing the sennen ring on the pillow next to his head. His eyes opened immediately and he sat up, making Rain jump slightly.

"B…Bakura…" -Why didn't I do that when I had the ring?- Rain growled at her own stupidity.

Malik smirked, which looked odd on Anzu's face, " Hello spirit, I have a proposition for you."

The tomb robber looked at Malik/ Anzu and his eyes narrowed slightly as Malik explained the situation, promising the sennen rod if Bakura would help him, Rain glowered at him/her.

"Alright. I accept your terms." His eyes moved to Rain and focused on her arms, which Rain was trying to hide. He immediately walked over to her, forcing her to let him examine the bruises.

"What the hell happened?" His voice was like ice. She could feel Maliks questioning gaze on her as well, as he noticed her bruises. Rain wimpered slightly,

"I…ran into Marik in the hallway…he just threatened me." His grip on her arm tightened and Rain wimpered again, "Bakura, you're hurting me." He let go of her arm and snorted, Malik took the look he sent him as a message to leave. Bakura sighed,

"Rain…"

He gently touched her arm, an unreadable look on his face. Rain blushed slightly when he ran his fingers along the chain of her necklace, he lifted the ankh into his palm and inspected it. "What are you doing?" He didn't answer, but she could have sworn the sennen ring lit up slightly, she figured it was just a trick of the light, she jumped slightly when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.

"I'm sorry…" Rain was shocked, -good lord, he's so unpredictable.- " I swear I'll kill him for touching you." -Ah, there's the Bakura I know.- She breathed in the scent of him before he moved away, an angry look on his face, " Now it's personal." He gave her a look, "And you. You should have fought him better."

"If he hadn't taken over Malik's body and had one of his own, I would have torched him."

"...Whatever. Just...for the love of Ra, at least _try_ to defend yourself."

Rain sighed, ignoring the comment, "Bakura…please don't duel him."

He raised his brow, "Might I ask why not? I shouldn't have to remind you that I do what I wish. You're lucky I don't send you to the shadow realm for half the things you say to me. Best be careful I don't think you're trying to protect him." Rain sighed,

"Bakura, I'm worried about you. If you duel him, I know the outcome won't be good."

He laughed, "I will win."

Rain gave him an exasperated look. "Will anything I say stop you?"

"What do you think?"

"No…"

" Good, you're learning."

Rain rolled her eyes, sitting down on the bed and looking at him sadly, she knew that maybe things might go a little bit differently since she was here but she had a horrible feeling that Bakura was still going to lose, and they had just started making a small amount of progress in the relationship they seemed to have. If one could call it that, Rain just saw it as a big ball of confused emotions that really needed to be sorted out…especially on Bakura's end. He'd been stewing on things for three thousand years. He eyed her then sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"What's wrong with you?" He demanded, making Rain stare.

"Huh? Nothing. Just thinking." She said quietly, he snorted.

" You want me to trust you, right? To think you aren't the lying bitch I've come to see you as?" Rain shivered at the coldness in his voice, but nodded. He placed his had on her knee, "Then tell me the truth. I'm not blind, I know a lie when I see it, I can see if someone is hiding something from me. Trust me and then maybe I will be able to trust you."

Rain's eyes widened for a moment, and she had to remember to close her mouth, her jaw having dropped at what he'd been saying to her. She had to admit, he definitely had a point.

"Alright," She closed her eyes, "Here's the deal. I'm terrified that you're going to lose the duel and I know Marik will try, in all the spare time he's got, to hurt me in some way. He's obsessed, I can see it in his eyes, he's insane and very dangerous. I would be fine using my powers to kick his ass, but in the blimp, in the air…well, I don't want to accidentally cause it to crash, or catch fire or something. Plus, he'll hurt everyone else if I try to focus my power directly on him. I have to take that threat seriously because he most certainly is capable of it. You are the only person here that can protect me properly and I won't feel safe at all if you're gone. I mean, Yami wants to make sure I'm safe and all, but he's got enough to think about. Besides, Marik's strong physically and that scares me almost more than the magical side of things." She sighed, "Even if you don't like me, can you please listen to me for your own wellbeing?"

His face was unreadable, he just stared at her for a moment, "I will duel Marik, and I will win." Rain threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"But what if you lose Bakura! Do I have to drill the concept into your brain?!"

He growled and gripped her jaw harshly, "Don't speak to me like that, woman. I do what I want, regardless of what you want me to do. I am ruled by no one."

"Then you are a fool." Rain flinched as he brought his hand up as though he would slap her, the blow didn't come though.

"I am no fool, Rain. You should know better than to anger me, next time I will strike you. You will soon learn that I am always a few steps ahead, how do you think I'm still here?"

Rain sighed, "Fine…do what you want…I'll find someone on this blimp that can teach me how to defend myself without magic."

"You will do no such thing. I won't have anyone touching you."

Rain rolled her eyes, "Bakura, why the hell are you so against anyone touching me? You have no claim on me in any way and you act like a crazy jealous boyfriend. It's getting annoying. If I want someone to teach me to fight back physically, I'm going to do it whether you like it or not."

He growled at her, his eyes narrowed, "I don't have to explain myself to you. You are mine, I would think that is claim enough, don't you?"

"In case you didn't get the memo, you can't own people in this day and age, sorry, but I'm my own person, to make any sort of 'claim' on someone, you need to ask them out. Even then, you can't really command the person or kill whoever touches them."

He raised a slender brow tilting his head to the side, " You speak of courting a woman."

Rain blushed slightly, she hid behind her hair and hoped he didn't notice, "I…I guess you could call it that, but we call it dating now…but yeah, if the two people involved are serious about each other then they are considered exclusive, therefore no man should attempt to speak to or touch the woman inappropriately and no woman should speak to or touch the man inappropriately either."

He stared at her for a moment, "Ok then, where do I ask you out to?"

Rain coughed slightly and blushed bright red, she tried no to laugh, "Y-you don't ask to go somewhere, asking someone out is the same as asking them to date you."

He glared at her, "Fine. Will you allow me to date you then?"

Rain nearly fainted, her jaw dropped. "Uh…" She was having trouble absorbing the fact that the tomb robber had just asked her out, it was so bizarre…Bakura sighed,

"A yes or no would suffice. Though if you say no, you're still mine. I really don't care about your silly modern ways."

This broke Rain out of her spell, "Fine, I'll say yes. I like you, even though you're a sexist jerk."

He smirked, "I don't know why you are so determined to think I don't like you. I do like you very much, I'm just angry with you. You should be glad that I'm at least trying. I've been angry for so long you must understand that it's become part of me." Rain couldn't believe what he was saying to her, he was finally communicating properly, well…at least trying to without being cruel. Though she wasn't entirely sure that he meant that he liked her as a person, or if he just wanted her in that other way. Oh well, it was a start.

"So, if we are…dating as you call it, that means I can touch you, right?" He asked with that familiar and annoying smirk, Rain blushed again and stuttered as he snickered at her, she jumped slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his laughter rumbling in his chest, Rain's second attempt at answering him was replaced by a defeated sigh as he kissed her then, being far more gentle than anyone knew he could be. Rain felt a profound happiness at the fact that he let her see this part of him, even if it wasn't a conscious act. She shivered as she felt his hands on her body, she pulled herself closer to him and he smirked against her lips, lifting her onto his lap. Her brief giggle was cut short by a moan as she felt his fingers brush against a nipple as he trailed wet kisses down her throat, nipping here and there because the little squeak she made when he did so seemed to entertain him. "Should I take this as a yes?" He whispered into her ear,

"Huh?" Rain gave a little gasp when he nipped her earlobe.

"You never answered me…"

"I…You're kind of…making it hard to th-think." She tried to speak as his hand slipped into her shirt. He laughed softly into her hair.

"A simple yes or no…but I'm sure we both already know your answer." Rain arched into him as his hand wandered lower, she knew he could have her pants off in moments and wasn't sure she would mind, he was doing amazing things with his hands and it was scrambling her brain. She couldn't figure out how one moment he had his hands on her throat ready to strangle her, the next moment he was all over her like a hormone ridden teenager. She felt the zipper on her pants being brought down and his hand slid further, now only the thin fabric of her underwear was between him and her most private area. Heat pooled deep within her as his fingers brushed against her softly, she moaned and arched when he hit that special spot that he seemed to know would drive her insane.

"Answer me Rain." He growled into her ear, she could feel a bulge in his pants that told her that this was driving him crazy too. Suddenly his unoccupied hand pinched her nipple through her shirt,

"Ohhhh…yes…" She whispered as he massaged her through her panties, Rain wriggled slightly, making him hiss slightly in response, before removing his hands and laying her down on the mattress, he leaned above her and looked into her eyes, noting her flushed face he smirked slightly,

"Do you want me, little Rain?"

Rain frowned, well, that was a stupid question. It was pretty obvious that she was beyond just wanting him. He trailed a finger down her cheek,

"Bakura…"

"I don't have to force an answer out of you again, do I?"

Rain sighed, "I--" She was cut off by a sharp knock. They both glared at the offending door, then Rain sighed again, looking back at Bakura. "I do want you Bakura, but it appears we'll have to finish this at another time. You need to pretend to be asleep."

He growled, before briefly taking her lips with his in a passionate kiss, then breaking apart so that he could lay down on the bed and Rain could fix her appearance and go to the door. It slid open to reveal a distressed Yugi.

"Rain, Marik won the duel and sent Mai to the shadow realm!" He exclaimed, tears leaking from his eyes. Rain sighed and wrapped her arms around him as he entered the room, she hated how sad her friend looked, part of her hope he wouldn't notice her flushed appearance.

"It'll be alright Yugi…we'll get Mai back…I promise. You know the pharoah will do all he can, and so will I." She tried to comfort him for a moment, then backed up slightly as Yami took control.

"Rain…I'm glad you didn't have to witness the duel, Marik is vicious and cruel. After seeing him in action I fear for your safety more than ever. You must be careful to avoid him at all costs."

"I've been trying, but he's already found me once in the hallway when he was on the way to the duel, so I'm not sure he'll be easy to avoid."

"Did he hurt you?!"

Rain subconsciously covered the small bruises on her arms, but her brother caught the movement and pulled her hands away,

"Rain…" He looked at her with worry etched into his features, "You shouldn't be alone like this, always have someone with you."

Rain looked at Bakura(Who was very good at pretending to sleep) "I wasn't alone."

His eyes followed her's, and he gave a very un-pharoah-like snort. "Now is not the time for comments like that Rain, I mean you need someone who can help protect you with you at all times. Someone awake."

Rain rolled her eyes, "Can we just settle for most of the time?"

Yami just frowned in response, "Fine…let's just go to the others, ok? Jou's hurt too, he took the brunt of the final attack trying to save Mai."

Rain sighed, "Can I have a moment? I'll meet you in the hallway."

He nodded, then went to the door and closed it behind him, Rain turned to Bakura, who had already sat up again. He had a dark look in his eyes. Rain sat down on the side of the bed and leaned against him, only slightly worried that he'd shove her away suddenly or get mad. He didn't, merely wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Rain, it's true…I have to go face Marik…you'll be safer with your little friends."

"Um…If you're with Marik, how on earth would he hurt me if I'm alone somewhere on the blimp?"

He smirked, "Tuche." Rain rolled her eyes and kissed him lightly,

"I have to be there…Don't argue, maybe it will be more incentive to win." Rain spoke with a determined tone, he sighed,

"Fine, do what you want. As long as you don't become like Yugi's little cheerleader…I don't need nor want one."

He got up and stretched, "Can you get rid of the blasted pharoah? If you remember, he's waiting for you outside the door."

"He's not a 'blasted' pharoah…"Rain grumbled, Bakura just gave her a look,

"There are other things I could call him, but I doubt you'd appreciate them. I'm trying to be nice, try not to spoil it for yourself by irritating me." Rain merely rolled her eyes, she turned towards the door and paused, the familiar feeling of dread back in the pit of her stomach. Of course, the moment her and Bakura started making progress he was going to be ripped away from her again…no, she corrected herself, maybe he'd win…one could always hope, right? Deep down she knew the truth though, the prophesy still said the pharoah was to defeat the great evil, not Bakura…

"…Bakura I…"

He cocked his head to the side, "What?"

"I….oh, never mind…" She sighed, he just shook his head and touched her face gently.

"Silly girl…I have to go, you can watch if you like, but don't interfere…You don't want to anger me and I don't need a distraction."

"Haven't I already pissed you off at some point?"

"…You've irritated me, but you don't want me to truly lose my temper…I don't want to damage you beyond repair."

Rain felt a small shiver of fear at his words, she knew he could be a far worse evil than Marik…Bakura could be cold and calculating, he had patience and was very smart and she knew that was why he seemed almost unkillable in the series she'd watching in her old world…seeing him in person like this made her realize that whomever had somehow tapped into this world had only grazed the surface with him, they had no idea what she knew he was capable of in that moment, she shook herself. No, I will not be afraid of him…Marik was her enemy, not Bakura…no matter what he was capable of.

"Well…I'll try not to piss you off properly then." She whispered, he smirked,

"Good, because I would hate to have to hurt you." He kissed her softly, "Now go get rid of your brother, I need to go find Marik."

Rain merely nodded and stepped out the door, Yami was leaning against the wall looking mildly annoyed, he shoved away from the wall when he noticed her,

"You ready now?" Rain nodded and they started off down the hallway, "Are you alright?" He asked after they entered his room, Rain sat down on his bed and sighed,

"Yeah, I'm ok…just thinking…"

He sat down to take off his shoes, "I was going to take you to the others, but I figured it was late and we all need our rest, right?"

"Yeah, especially you."

He smiled, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to my soul room, Yugi'll keep you company ok?"

"That's fine, Yugi is great company…but he needs sleep too, don't worry…I'll go to sleep soon, Ok?"

He looked at her for a moment before nodding and laying down, Yugi took over and wished her a good night, he was asleep within minutes, Rain waited a moment before leaving the room quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Evil 1 vs. Evil 2.

_Warning: Bad, bad language ahead……_

_And I know I changed things up a bit with how the duel with Mai went (figured Yami didn't jump in the way in time and Jou took the attack instead…dunno why I changed it but meh. -shrugs-_

_Besides that, I do not own!!!!_

_Bakura: You only wish you could. -evil laugh-_

_-THWOK- Laugh at me again, I dare you._

_Bakura: -Glare-_

_..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................._

Rain made her way to the elevator to get up to the duelling arena and got ready mentally for what she would see in this shadow game. She noticed that she was alone when she got to the viewing area, glad it hadn't started yet. She leaned against the railing and looked down, relishing the lovely view of the moonlight reflecting off of the water until she heard the whirring noise announcing that the elevator to get onto the playing field was coming up. Rain turned to look just as the doors opened to reveal Bakura and Marik, Marik was the first to notice her, he went to his place on the platform before giving her a sickening grin,

"Well, hello there sweetheart! I missed you at my last duel, I had so much fun destroying your little friend." He laughed, Rain glowered at him,

"Fuck you Marik."

He laughed again, "Such vulgar language coming from such a pretty mouth, one must wonder what other things you can do with it."

Rain's breath came out in an angry hiss, "Go crawl in a hole and die!"

He smirked, "Ah, such a temper…I really will enjoy breaking you."

"Leave her the hell alone Marik!" Rain jumped slightly, she'd forgotten about Bakura, who looked relatively pissed off, to put it mildly. Marik just smirked at his opponent,

"Ah Bakura, I haven't forgotten the past you know, I remember how you lusted after her, how you let _love_ weaken you. I wanted her too, but to see the great Bakura chained by a _woman! _It was laughable! I was lucky though, because after you and the pharoah were gone it was _my_ turn. I was to do what you never accomplished!"

" You failed though Marik! You lost!" Rain yelled at him, Bakura gave her the shut-the-hell-up-before-I-kill-you look, which she blatantly ignored. "You're _nothing, _you no good bastard!"

Marik's eyes narrowed slightly, he gripped the railing and leapt down to where she was standing, Rain didn't move as he strode to her, taking her chin firmly in his hand, forcing her to look at him,

"I may not have succeeded in the past, but you will be _mine_ this time. I will teach you to hold your tongue and by the time I'm done with you, you shall be merely a puppet of my creation that I will bend to my will."

"You will _never_ have me, you sick bastard." Rain growled at him, trying to shove him away from her to no avail, she saw Bakura jump down from the platform behind Marik,

"Marik, let go of the girl, we have a duel to begin."

"Humph, I see you're in a hurry to lose." He turned to look at the tomb robber with a sinister smirk, Rain backed away slowly until she was a decent distance from him, looking at Bakura the whole time, he glanced at her again but said nothing. Rain looked on as they both climbed back onto the platform, Marik gave her a look that made her want to punch him in the face. "Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll have our fun soon."

"I don't think your version of fun includes you dying a slow, painful death." Rain said with her best glare, Bakura laughed,

"Ah, I think I'm rubbing off on her."

Marik merely raised an eyebrow before shoving his deck into his duel disk as Bakura did the same, Rain shivered, she found it strange that two of the craziest, most evil villains in existence were facing each other down right in front of her. Her other friends from her world would have killed for this experience…well, aside from the fact that both said villains were after her in some way. They all would have been scared shitless the moment Bakura showed interest, despite him being hot, she figured she was the only one who could actually put up with his _winning_ personality.

"The winner of this duel will win the sennen rod, but the loser will pay the ultimate price!" Marik said with obvious relish, Bakura just laughed in response. Rain rolled her eyes, -bloody loonie toons…they're both nuts…-

"Heh, you won't be laughing when you're banished to the shadow realm and I take your woman! Yes, I've noticed that you still look at her the way you did all that time ago, I'm disappointed! You are still weak, spirit!"

Bakura smirked, "I'm afraid you are mistaken, You will be the one in the shadow realm when this duel is done…you will find I am in no way _weak_."

Rain sighed as they continued yelling at each other…well, not quite yelling…but having a very tense conversation. The duel began a few minutes later, Rain wasn't surprised as darkness surrounded them, she shivered slightly, hating the coldness of the shadow realm. She was surprised at how well she could still see the two men through the dark purple haze of the shadow realm but wasn't complaining, she'd been worried that she would be stuck outside of it all, unable to see what was going on or be of any use at all. Rain knew that if or when Marik won this duel she'd have to get away from him right away, because if Bakura lost to him, she'd be unprotected and she didn't know if the pharoah and Anzu would show up as they did originally, her being there could have changed that and it scared her, so she decided that she had to be very careful if she wanted to get through the rest of battle city tournament without experiencing whatever Marik had in store for her. Rain shuddered visibly at the thought, she decided to focus on the duel taking place before her, before her thoughts took her places she _really_ didn't want to go.

………………………………....................................................................................................

Back inside the blimp, Anna was pacing the floor in the room Kaiba had given her, there was no way she was going to be able to sleep, not with all the craziness going on around her. She sighed, wondering what Rain was doing, she just had this feeling that she had to go see her but it was so late…Anna shook her head, -I'll go check on her…I doubt she'll be asleep…last I knew of, she was headed to Bakura's room, sooo…I'll check there first.- She wandered to the door and punched in the code, it slid open to reveal a semi-surprised CEO. Anna jumped, and nearly fell over.

"Kaiba, what on earth were you doing there?!"

He glared for a moment, before shrugging slightly, "I was…coming to speak with you."

Anna's brows shot up "At one in the morning? Do you ever sleep? Or have consideration for those that do?"

He shrugged again, "I knew you wouldn't be asleep. You worry too much."

"What? I do not. Besides, I'm allowed to worry…Marik is a freaking psycho and he wants to do god knows what to my best friend. Then there's the whole idea that she's in love with a different psycho that's almost as bad if not worse than the one she's trying to avoid. I don't want her to get hurt so I have to at least try to look out for her." She put a hand through her hair, stressed out somewhat. He smiled slightly, thus making Anna feel like swooning. -Gah! Oh my God he's smiling. At me. I soooo want to…ugh…no get your head out of the gutter! Gotta go check on Rain! But he's so HOT!!!- She blushed slightly, making his smile get bigger (though it was now looking a lot like a typical Kaiba smirk now.)

"Ok you can cut it out now."

"Cut what out?"

"Smirking at me."

" Why? Is that why your blushing?"

"I'm NOT blushing."

"Actually, you are. And…your getting redder."

Anna sulked for a moment, he was right of course…she couldn't help but blush around him, even if he was rude to her, or teasing her, she _really_ liked him. She thought for a moment about how he'd acted around her since she'd first met him in this world. At first he was just as cold as he was to the others, but then…after a bit he'd really been improving. He only teased her gently now, and actually smiled now and then. She figured it was mostly because of how well she got along with Mokuba at first, but now she had this feeling that he personally seemed to like her company because he always seemed to find ways to talk to her with the excuse of it being for her 'job', yet they never really talked about it when he did so. So she figured this meant they were friends now (sort of) because she wasn't going to let herself get her hopes up by thinking he liked her that _other_ way.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Anna was taken from her thoughts by Kaiba, who to her surprise was standing about a foot in front of her staring at her face, which now was for sure nearly purple with embarrassment. He frowned,

"You aren't going to make me repeat myself are you?"

"Uh, no. I was just…um…thinking about girlie things that you really would have no interest in." He raised a brow in response, Anna laughed nervously, "Um…"

"Seriously though, what were you thinking about? You looked really deep in thought." When she reddened again, he snapped his fingers. "Ah Ha! You have a crush on me don't you!"

Anna quite literally fell over, and she was pretty sure her heart stopped for a moment.

"Gah!! I um…Uh…No, of course not!" She sputtered, He laughed slightly,

"It's ok. You don't have to lie. A blind man would be able to notice that fact. You don't hide it well at all."

Anna couldn't even summon the courage to speak at this point, so she merely stared at him, totally mute and looking very much like a tomato. He patted her on the head, much to her irritation, and laughed again.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed, you know that right?"

-Stare- Anna finally found her voice again by sheer shock, "You…You just said 'cute'…"

"Yes."

"You called me cute?" She was looking at him as though he was insane. He sighed,

"Yes."

"Are you feeling ok Kaiba?"

He gave her a look, "Of course I'm feeling ok. Why are you making such a big deal about it? Am I not allowed to use that word?"

Anna stared, then burst out laughing, causing Kaiba to now look at her as though she was the one who'd lost her mind.

"You are one of the least likely people I have ever met to use the the word cute. I didn't even realize you knew what it meant." Bakura would be the only person less likely to say something involving any sort of word like 'cute' to anyone, Anna thought to herself before grinning -well, that could change…Hopefully Rain would make him a little less crazy…then I wouldn't have to worry about him injuring her in some way. Oh shit! Kaiba is soo distracting! I've got to go find Rain!- She jumped towards the door, receiving an odd look from Kaiba as she did so,

"I forgot I have to go see Rain! I wanted to check up on her to make sure everything is ok." She explained, he grabbed her hand before she had a chance to bolt out the door.

"Anna."

"Huh?"

"You can call me Seto, ok? As long as you try really hard not to act like a cheerleader, or a crazy fan girl."

"Oh…alright." Anna felt the blush coming on again, "Thanks, I'll try not to act like either of those things…and I'm sure you'll keep me in line… I really have to go though."

"You worry far too much, that's why it's so much better without friends. I don't have to worry about people always getting into trouble like the friendship squad always does."

There was a moment of silence, then…

"Uh, Seto?"

"What?"

"Can you…uh…let go of my hand?" She could have swore she saw him blush before swiftly letting her go.

………………………………...................................................................................................

Rain was finding the fact that suddenly she could see a semi-invisible Malik beside Bakura somewhat amusing, and a little odd, luckily she'd been expecting it or she'd have been freaked out. There was a lot of yelling and talking between the three of them until Rain got irritated,

"Ok, are you going to continue the duel or not?!"

Bakura glared at her, "Are you the one duelling?"

"No…"Rain grumbled,

He smirked, "Then kindly shut up."

Rain just glared back at him before Marik started laughing again, after a few more words the duelling really began.

(A/N: I'm not going to give a play by play…because I hate doing that, they duels are always so long and drawn out.)

Rain winced as Bakura lost his first life points, along with part of his left arm, which Marik kindly pointed out as being devoured by the shadows after Bakura noticed it missing. That _had_ to hurt, but he didn't seem to be in any pain…though Rain figured he hid it well. It actually just seemed to piss him off more. She rubbed her own arms wishing she'd brought a good sweater along with her, but knowing that it really wouldn't make much of a difference to the numbing cold of the shadow realm. After some more turns passed, (and more of Bakura was missing, sadly) Marik gave Bakura a mockingly thoughtful look,

"Hmmmm, lets make this duel a little more interesting, shall we?"

"How so?" Bakura grated out, clearly irritated. Rain could cut the tension with a knife, she felt eyes on her and turned to look at Marik, who, to her dismay was looking at her like she was a juicy steak on a plate, she gave him the meanest glare she could muster.

"What?" She growled,

He shrugged, "I've decided that you should have a part to play in this."

"Uh…I think I'll pass, thanks."

"well now, you don't have a say in this, do you, sweetheart. Don't worry, it's not an active part."

"For Ra's sake, just get on with it! We're supposed to be duelling, remember?! Bakura shouted, crossing his arms impatiently, "This has nothing to do with the girl so stop chit chatting and fight me, you fool!"

Marik laughed evilly, "Don't kid yourself. You know for a fact this still has a lot to do with the girl. How about we settle this, the winner of the duel will also win her!"

Bakura glanced at Rain, who was frowning angrily at this new development, He turned back to Marik, very much annoyed.

"No…the rules of this duel should stay the same. You aren't allowed to change them halfway through you fiend."

"Well, the winner will get her anyway because the loser will be in the shadow realm! Muahahahahaha!"

"Nobody gets anybody you asshole! I'll torch you if you come anywhere near me!" Rain screamed, furious at being discussed as though she was an object that someone could own and do what they please with. Both men looked at her, Marik smirked,

"Such an empty threat. I know you don't have the heart to burn me my dear, unless you want to kill my lighter half too?"

Rain looked over at Bakura and Malik(Who had randomly appeared again), then back at Marik. She growled slightly, hating the situation she was in.

"I don't care what I have to do damnit. You won't get what you want you sick son of a bitch." Rain spoke in nearly a whisper, but they heard well. One could tell she was very much pissed off at the moment. "Get on with your duel and leave me be! I'm here to watch, not talk to _you_" She sneered to Marik, who merely chuckled at her display of anger.

"You're so angry with me you're glowing, it's having an interesting affect on the shadows." Rain looked at her arms, and realized he was right. She had a reddish haze of light covering her skin, and it was almost reflecting off of the darkness around her. She frowned as it faded slightly, the men were no longer paying attention to her at this point, so she began to watch as they continued their duel (Finally). As it continued, Rain couldn't help but get a bit unnerved as Bakura kept sacrificing his own life points, thus kept losing body parts.

"Bakura, go with a different strategy, seriously! You're going to lose if you don't do something other than what you're obviously planning!" She finally shouted after he summoned the winged dragon of Ra and Marik pulled off a trick giving the monster zero attack points. "You're missing your entire midsection for god's sake!"

"Did you completely ignore me when I told you specifically not to interfere?! I don't need duelling advice from you woman!"

Rain glared at him, "God! You and your damn ego! You and Kaiba should hang out, you're just as bad as he is!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP OR LEAVE!"

Rain flinched slightly from his tone, she didn't like it, but she didn't say anything else. He wouldn't listen to her at all anyway, so what was the point? She shook her head as Bakura and Malik started arguing as well, -Good lord…he really does not work well with others…-

She continued to watch as Marik took control of the duel and eventually pointed out that the winged dragon of Ra had some unknown abilities that he (somehow) knew. Rain forced herself to watch as Marik's scheme fell into place as he resurrected the winged dragon of Ra from the graveyard(where bakura had sent it), then showed off two of Ra's special abilities, Rain covered her eyes as everything seemed to erupt in flames around her, falling to her knees as Bakura's monsters were destroyed, then Malik,

"Prepare yourself to be destroyed at the hands of Ra!!" Marik shouted, Bakura chuckled,

"Don't you realize that I AM the darkness?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Simple, it means I can't really be destroyed." Bakura said with a smirk as his body faded, "You haven't seen the last of me!" Rain shivered as his laugh echoed throughout the shadows as he disappeared, he still could really scare the hell out of her, whether he meant to or not. Damn his laugh was too creepy…why did he always laugh when he lost a duel?

" Get away from him Rain…" She heard a whisper as the darkness began to fade, she didn't even have time to be upset, she realized, as she happened to look up and see Marik looking at her with a triumphant look on his face. -Oh shit. Gotta run for it.-

She turned to go without a word, but as the final bits of dark fog cleared, she saw three people standing at the edge of the arena and was relieved to find it was Yami, Anzu and Anna. All three looked horrified, and Yami looked a little bit pissed. Ok a lot pissed. Before Rain even got a chance to say anything, Anna grabbed her and dragged her to the elevator. Once they were inside and going down, she let go. Rain rubbed her wrist while giving her friend a look,

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"I had to get you away from Marik!"

"I was fine! He wasn't going to do anything right in front of the pharoah!"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure. Whatever. I so knew you were getting yourself into trouble. You watched their duel, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I had to…even though Bakura got mad whenever I interfered."

"What all happened?"

Rain explained how the duel went and how much Marik had been irritating her the whole time, she sighed after she was done, "I swear, Marik gets a kick out of pissing me off to the point of almost losing control….apparently I can glow if I get mad enough, isn't that crazy?"

"Well…I'm glad you didn't get any more angry than you were…I would hate to see what would happen if you were to lose control of your powers or something. You could have annihilated the entire blimp!" Anna cocked her head to the side, examining her friend quietly for a moment. "So…Bakura's gone?"

Rain clenched her fists, bowing her head slightly, she finally allowed herself to feel the pain of seeing him literally disappear. She forced herself not to cry. "Yeah…for now…"

"Hm…cheer up Rain, you know he's not gone for good."

"Yeah, but we just started making progress as an actual couple…he officially asked me out…but I'm pretty sure he only did it because I got mad at him for acting like no one was allowed to touch me. Now he has an excuse to hurt any guy that tries anything…well, when he's not in the shadow realm anymore. It's like whenever I take one step foreward it seems life makes me take two steps back, so I'm never gonna get anywhere if every time I have a good moment with bakura in which I convince him not to completely hate me something bad happens!"

"Maybe it's not really meant to be?"

"Don't. Ever. Say. That." Rain growled through clenched teeth, making Anna back up slightly as the elevator opened to the Main hall,

"I'm…sorry Rain, I didn't mean to make you mad…It's just…I worry about you, and to be honest, Bakura scares me even more than Marik does! He so…cunning and manipulative."

"Trust me Anna. I know. But I have to hope that I can get through to the small amount of sanity and goodness that I know is still inside him! He's been hurt over and over again, you have to understand that is what drives him to be so evil! And don't forget about Zorc…or whatever the hell it's called, he has a good part in making Bakura do evil things! We should be more worried about Marik right now anyway! He's the one I have to hide from now that Bakura can't be here to protect me."

"Since when did Bakura stop trying to hurt you and start wanting to protect you?! I'm thinking I've missed something here!"

Rain sighed, then explained the last moments she's had with the tomb robber before the duel. After she was done, Anna looked to be a cross between completely shocked, thoroughly amused, and now somewhat a tad more understanding…and maybe a little worried as he still had a tendency to randomly lash out at people.

"Well… you nearly did _that_ with him? And you had to explain _dating_ to him?! That's…just hilarious! Can you imagine what would have happened if yami had actually walked in on you instead of knocking on the door?"

Rain couldn't help but giggle slightly at the mental image.

"Rain!!"

The girls both looked at each other,

"Uh oh…."

They turned to see Yami striding towards them, well…more particularly Rain, with a very much annoyed expression on his face.

"I could damn well kill you Rain! You were supposed to stay put and go to bed! _Not_ wander off and go watch Marik and Bakura duel! Have you any idea how worried I was when I was woken up and saw that you were gone?! For the love of Ra, have you any idea what would have happened had we all not shown up at the arena when we did?! You would have been alone! With Marik! And--"

"Ok Ok! I get it! Enough yelling please!" Rain shouted over him, he settled for just looking mad. Rain put a hand on his arm gently, "I'm really sorry I made you, Yugi, Anzu, and Anna worry. I really, really am, but I had to watch that duel…you know why. I'm fine, see? No harm done! I know it was stupid of me and everything but…"Rain felt tears come to her eyes as she tried to continue, but all of the stress she'd had that night finally was showing, She felt so tired…the room was spinning around her…"I…sorry…"

Yami grabbed her as she collapsed, surprise and worry etched on his face, Anna sighed softly,

"I knew it…she's overdone it."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked as they walked back towards him room,

"Rain has been through a lot in the last few hours, got knows what she had to put up with during that duel…remember, we couldn't see her until that mist cleared so that means when she was watching that shadow duel, she was in the shadow realm herself as well. So physically she's exhausted, I doubt she's been sleeping much lately either…she was at the brink of exhaustion mentally and emotionally as well, I was hoping she would relax a bit, but I guess that's not the case…I think she'll be ok…just needs a good night's sleep. Are you going to let her stay in your room for now? So she's not by herself?"

Yami nodded, "Yes. I'll take care of her, we all need to go to sleep to prepare for tomorrow. I suggest you go back to your room, I'll let you know when she wakes up."


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Ok, I do not own Yu-gi-oh or any of the other random things I happen to use in my story except for my own characters._

_Alright! Hope I didn't take too long to update! I had to kill some writers block, and this chapter ended up annoyingly long! Enjoy!_

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Chapter 7: Drained

Rain was dreaming, she was sure of it. There was blackness swirling all around her, she could feel it, almost as though it was caressing her skin, like smoke, but it seemed to have some substance.

"W-where _am_ I?" She shivered slightly, sensing another presence in the gloom. "Who's there?!" When there was no response she took a cautious step foreward, hoping there was no dangerous terraine in this black void she seemed to be stuck in. Suddenly, to her complete and utter shock, a door randomly popped into existence before her, making Rain jump backward slightly, before laughing nervously.

"Huh…well, this is…weird…should I go through the door?" In response, the door swung open. Rain blinked. "Ok…I'll take that as a yes?" She paused, trying to peer through door, sighing when all she saw was the same black stuff that was surrounding her. "Now that I think about it, how can I even see the door with no light?…I guess all the weirdness in my life is bound to affect my dreams…at least I'm not in another memory…why the heck am I talking to myself?!" She made her way through to door and suddenly squinted, having been somehow transported to what appeared to be a field, she glanced up to find an angry sky full of clouds.

"Well, at least it's not complete darkness…this dream isn't making much sense…" She shivered, feeling as though there was something seriously wrong with her surroundings…it was so…desolate. She almost wanted to go back to the darkness…the darkness, an image of Bakura appeared in her mind. He was in the shadow realm right now, she felt a rather sharp pain in her chest when she thought of it, sighing, she began to walk in a random direction figuring it didn't really matter where she went in this bizarre dream world that her mind had created. She suddenly stopped and stared before her with wide eyes, there was a line of trees blocking her way, but it wasn't the trees that she was looking at, it was the people chained to them. Dead people. Pinned to their own trees with what looked like wicked golden swords, when she inched closer, tears filled her eyes as she realized she _knew_ these people. Her parents, Anna, all her friends…they were all dead! Their mouths gaping open in grotesque silent screams, their pale faces twisted in their final agony.

"No…Oh god, please no…" Rain wimpered, tears falling from her eyes like the rain that was now pouring from the cloudy sky. She fell to her knees in shock, "I…why is my mind _doing_ this?! What does this mean?!"

"You don't know?" The horrified girl jumped slighty, looking beside her to find the owner of the disturbingly calm voice.

"R..Ryo!" She stared in shock, momentarily distracted from the bloody scene before them. The boy was looking at her with a serious expression on his face, the only thing missing was the ring around his neck. "W…What…How are you here?!" She didn't move as he knelt down to her and wiped a tear from her cheek gently.

"I'm not sure…" He spoke quietly, glancing at the line of trees. "I was asleep I think, and now I'm in your dream." He sighed, "Well, it's more of a nightmare, isn't it…"

Rain found her voice after absorbing his words. "So…are you another figment of my obviously messed up mind, or are you real?"

"I…I don't know."

" As far as I know, you and your dark half" She paused, taking a breath, "You both got sent to the shadow realm so I don't see how you could really be here…Strange things seem to happen in this crazy world, so it wouldn't be surprised if you somehow ended up in my head."

"Hm…well, maybe I'm here to help you."

"…Got any clue as to why everyone is dead?" She had to force the words, refusing to look at the line of dead people. Ryo grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, Rain gave him a halfhearted smile for his small effort.

" I'm sure the answer is within your subconscious…are you afraid for them?"

"Yeah…I'm scared that Marik will somehow hurt more of the people I care about…and I'm worried I may never see my family again."

"That's all? I've noticed that My Yami and I are missing."

She looked up, surprised. Briefly looking at all the people's faces, she realized he was right. Neither he nor Bakura were among the dead, she was flooded with a small amount of relief…seeing Bakura dead would have been far more than she could handle…but then why wasn't he? A thought occurred to her after a moment, a possible answer.

Rain heaved a sigh, "No. I'm worried that I won't be able to save Bakura from himself, or my friends from him for that matter…His anger and his obsession with revenge will destroy him if I can't do something, and if he continues, and wins his final battle with the pharoah the world will suffer greatly. If he loses, then he will die for good. Either way, I lose _something_. He won't hesitate to kill for what he wants and it scares me, what if I get in his way too? Will he kill me?"

"I don't think he'd kill you." Ryo gave her a tiny smile, "Though, I'm sure he could make you wish he had if he was angry enough….so you're afraid of losing those people…would you blame yourself if you did?"

"I would. Because I would feel as though I could have stopped it. So…I guess I'm not just afraid of Marik, I'm terrified that Bakura is going to continue falling into his own madness, killing everyone I care about in the process, possibly even me. I think the reason you aren't among the dead has something to do with the fact that you and him share a body. So I don't think he _can_ kill you. What do you think?"

"Hmmm…well, I think this dream of yours is created by your stress. You're terrified for the people you care about, terrified of being left alone…that's my opinion by the way, and you're worried sick that you won't be able to help the one person you care most about and it could possibly lead to the end of the world as we know it. Also, I think you feel as though you're stuck between two sides of a war. You're right about Bakura not killing me, I'm sure if he had the choice he would have already."

"…what makes you believe I'm afraid of being alone?"

He spread his arms, "Look around. There is not another living thing in the vicinity aside from us, and the place is incredibly dreary. It's raining and dark and…well, not sure what that door means."

"I came through that door…actually, I'm not sure why it's still there. You're right about me feeling like I'm stuck in the middle of a war. I mean, how would you feel If you had to choose between your brother, and…and…"

"Your soul mate?"

Rain blushed slightly, "Something like that."

"I'm sure it's a very tough situation.…what's on the other side of that door?"

Rain unexpectedly grabbed his hand and dragged him to said door, throwing it open, "Nothing…I came from there…and it's just…complete darkness. But it's more than that…I can't explain it but the darkness feels almost as though it's alive, like it has substance. Oh, and it's cold there…I felt like I wasn't alone but it's not like you can see anything in nothingness…"

Ryo peered through the door, curious, before giving her an indecipherable look.

"…"

"What?"

" You just described the shadow realm."

"Oh. Well, it can't be that, because this is a dream." Rain started foreward, "Well, let's go back through the door, I don't want to stay here with…"She jerked her head back, "Them." Ryo laced his fingers through her's, making a light blush grace her features. -this may be a dream, but the legions of fan girls would surely kill me…so far I've done…_things_ with bakura and now Ryo's holding my hand. This is so weird that I'm thinking about shit like this right now- The pair stepped through the doorway into complete blackness, Rain shivered, feeling as though it was greeting her as it caressed her skin. The only way Rain knew Ryo was still with her was because she could feel his hand in her's.

"Rain?"

"Yeah?"

"This is the shadow realm." Rain tightened her grip on his hand when he said that,

"Y…you can't be serious."

" Uh…I really don't think this place is part of your dream." They walked silently for a few moments, before Ryo pulled her to a stop, "Oh shit."

"Ryo! Did you just swear?" Rain asked, completely skocked to hear an actual swear word coming from his oh so innocent mouth. He blushed slightly (Not that either person could see it) Then she felt the presence. It was the same one she'd felt before going into the door in the first place.

"Ryo…you feel it too?"

"Rain…I know who _it_ is."

" Since when am I an _it_?!" An irritated, but familiar voice echoed from the darkness, Rain would have fallen over if Ryo hadn't been firmly holding her hand.

"B..Bakura!" At the sound of her voice some of the darkness began to lift, it was still dark and hazy but light enough to see somewhat. Rain realized with a small jolt that Ryo and his Yami were separated. Said Yami was standing about three feet in front of her with a scowl on his face as he stared both of them down.

"What the hell are you doing in the shadow realm Rain?" He paused, "And, why is my hikari holding your hand?"

Ryo quickly ripped his hand out of her's, while Rain tried to figure out an answer to his questions,

"Um…well, I thought this is all a dream so…I don't know why I'm here… I _was_ in my dream a few minutes ago…Hey, how are you two not in the same body? Last time I checked you're a spirit!" Rain fought the urge to go poke Bakura to see if he was solid, he looked kind of angry so it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Almost as dangerous than trying to poke an angry bear…

"We _are_ separate souls, idiot."

"Well, duh, but where the heck is your body?!" Bakura shrugged while Ryo just looked like he wanted to go hide, due to Bakura turning his glare solely onto his poor hikari. His eye twitched,

"I'd still like to know why you were holding hands." Rain groaned, " Ryo happened to end up in my dream somehow and helped me out, then we went here and he had to hold my hand so that we wouldn't get lost cause we obviously can't see in the dark."

"_How_ did you get from your dream to the shadow realm?" He grated out, clearly getting more annoyed by the minute,

"Well, I was here first…I went through a door that kind of…I dunno, materialized in front of me…that lead to my dream, then Ryo showed up, and we came back through the door…soo…yeah."

"That still explains nothing. You're rambling." Bakura smirked at her coldly, then sent another glare Ryo's way, making the poor boy go pale. Rain rolled her eyes,

" Leave Ryo alone, you've already scarred him for life by inhabiting his body and abusing the hell out of it." she muttered, wrapping an arm around Ryo's shoulder which was stupid because Bakura didn't like that one bit. His eye twitched again ,he stormed over and promptly grabbed Rain by the waist and hauled her several feet away from poor Ryo, who continued to stand there looking scared, then he turned her in his arms so that she was facing him.

" Mine. You are mine. Therefore anyone who touches you will be immediately stabbed, maimed or tortured. You got that woman? So if you don't want me to start killing people you should not be letting other men touch you."

Rain stared, dumbfounded, as Ryo was now so pale he seemed to glow in the shadows. Then she got irritated,

"_I_ was the one touching Ryo, and he's _your_ hikari, light, incarnate…something like that, he's practically _made_ of innocence SO he can do whatever the hell he wants and YOU won't be hurting, maiming or killing him for it! Besides, you inhabit his body, so technically I'm touching him whenever I touch you!"

Bakura's fury was now evident as he was crushing her in his arms, the glare he had fixed on Rain was vicious enough to frighten even the bravest of souls, she forced herself not to look away and braced herself for the only thing that was _ever_ predictable about Bakura. Ryo was staring at her in shock and awe before casting a glance at Bakura who was making them both wonder if he really _would_ kill Rain. The only other person who would directly oppose him like that was the pharoah…and that usually resulted in a long shadow duel.

"…Are you _trying_ to get me to kill you? You press my buttons continually, and I swear to Ra you enjoy doing it. _You_ said that if I asked you out then I could do what I please to those that dare touch you. Now you are taking it back? I might as well inform you that I can't kill my weak hikari, and wasn't planning on harming him. Scaring the hell out of him, yes. But that's usually all it takes to keep him in line."

"That's not exactly what I said and you know it." Rain growled,

"You're _dating_?!"

Both Bakura and Rain looked at Ryo, who was staring at them with surprise written across his face.

"Uh…thought you knew that."

" …" Ryo blushed slightly, "Well…I didn't think an ancient Egyptian spirit _could_ date someone…cause he doesn't have a body…but I guess he uses mine so…"

"It's ok Ryo, I haven't molested you. Besides, if Bakura's in control it's not _really_ you so…" Rain blushed slightly, "This has passed into awkward territory so…uh…glad to see you're both ok but I have to try to wake myself up…"

"We weren't done our conversation woman!" Bakura snarled, Rain winced as his grip on her waist tightened yet again,

"Oh. I was hoping you forgot."

"It's been all of, what, twenty seconds? What do you think I am, a goldfish?" He looked at Ryo, smirked, then suddenly Ryo was gone and it was utter blackness again. Rain felt a rush of wind, then she could see Bakura's face again.

"Must be nice to control the darkness huh." Bakura just shrugged in response, so Rain continued, "Have you come across Mai? Marik has her stuck in an hourglass thingie somewhere around here…speaking of Marik, I'm having trouble avoiding him as he seems to always know where I am and he scares the living crap outta me, now that you're gone he-"

"Stop talking Rain." Bakura cut her off, shaking his head at her, " The reason you always run into Marik is probably because you seem to lack some fundamental part of your brain that tells you how to keep yourself alive. Either that or you don't listen to your instincts…you could just stay in one room, and never be alone…isn't that a good idea? Don't give him opportunities and you won't find yourself in bad situations. For example, in our case. As I've said, I AM the darkness, and if the darkness itself wants to destroy you, you should stay in the light and as far away from me as possible….what do you do instead? You try to do the exact opposite and somehow--"

"Fall in love with you for the second time and decide that if you still want to destroy me I would probably let you?" Rain spoke up, cutting him off. He blinked at her, looking utterly befuddled.(A/N: That would be very entertaining. :D)

"Uh…you don't mean that, do you?"

"Well, I'm still trying to figure out if this is all a dream or not…so I guess I did. And I meant every word."

He glared at her, "Are you completely and utterly stupid?! Let me destroy you?! Have you no sense? No will to live?! Ra, you really must be missing some part of your brain." He snickered suddenly, she flinched in response, feeling rather hurt by his little outburst. His glare turned into a smirk, "I suppose you should thank the gods that I don't want you dead."

"But you still want to destroy me." Rain muttered, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall, wishing she wasn't so damn emotional. One step forward, two steps back…-sigh- Bakura shrugged,

" You can't truly love me, because you know that I am incapable of love, therefore unable to ever truly love you back. I need something from you, and I have always wanted you. Whether that means your destruction or not…" He shrugged again.

"What will it take for you to believe me Bakura? I would--" She was cut off by a very loud shout. _I would die for you_. Another shout, Rain actually heard the words this time.

"WAKE UP RAIN!!!" Rain winced at the voice, someone was yelling at her…sounded like Anna. "Wake up!" She winced again, Bakura stared at her,

"What's wrong with you?"

"Someone's trying to wake me up."

"Oh…but we weren't done talking."

"Really?"

"…well, yes. I want to know how you can come and go in the shadow realm like this."

"Uh…if I had a clue you would have forced it out of me by now."

"WAKE UP!!!"

"Ok…and one more thing…"Rain shivered as he leaned in and touched his lips to her's softly, barely leaning back to speak, "remember, even if your alone, I'll still be around, watching you….and don't argue with me, make me looks stupid, or piss me off again or I really will hurt you next time. I don't want to hurt you."

"Did you just say something slightly less mean than usual?." Rain whispered in response. He chuckled,

"Don't expect that to happen often, I'm not a nice man. I'm sure you know that." He kissed her again, this time in typical Bakura fashion, a rough, lip bruising kiss before Rain vanished from his arms.

……………………………….long dream, huh………………………………................................

Rain woke to find Anna shaking her roughly, she sat up quickly smacking her friend's hands from herself. She brought a hand to her lips, which, somehow, were still throbbing from that kiss.

"Jeez, did you have a good dream or something? I was trying to wake you up for like ten minutes!" Her friend shouted in her face, "I was worried you were comatose like Mai and Rishid!"

"Uh, I haven't lost any shadow games, or got hit by lightning recently so why worry?"

"I don't think Marik even needs the excuse of a shadow game to send you there."

Rain briefly wondered that if she got sent there, would she be able to come back like in the dream? Was it just a dream or had she really been in the shadow realm?…Anna waved a hand in front of her face impatiently.

"Rain, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Why are you so desperate to wake me up anyway?"

Anna frowned, "Cause the blimp's already been, I dunno, captured. You were so out of it you didn't even feel the turbulence?"

Rain eyed Anna for a moment before standing up and stretching, she looked out the window and gasped, "Where the hell are we?!"

"As I said, we've been captured. We're in that fortress, you know, that one that Noah controls."

Rain put her forhead against the wall, closing her eyes, "How long have we been here, are the others…"

"The others already left the blimp. By now they are likely already in the virtual world that Noah set up, so we're stuck in here."

"Damnit. This is the one thing I wanted to avoid. I guess as long as Marik doesn't know where I am we'll be ok…"

"So let's just not leave this room."

Rain nodded, "I won't leave this room unless we have to. Don't you think he's going to suspect I'd be in Yugi's room though?"

"I think he's more likely to think that you'd be in Bakura's room."

"He knows you guys would never let me stay there after Bakura was gone though, Yami had enough issues with me staying in that room in the first place.

Anna merely shrugged in response, Rain sighed, rubbing her arms as she backed away from the window and sat back down on the bed.

"I must have been tired to sleep through all of this."

"Rain, I poked you with a pencil and you still wouldn't wake up, I know you. You're usually a very light sleeper, so from what I saw, you weren't sleeping. It was like you were in a coma or something."

Rain sighed, rubbing her eyes, then pulling her long hair into a ponytail before meeting her friend's hazel gaze, " I suppose you're going to bug me constantly until I tell you what's going on in my head…even if I have no real idea." She frowned, "You're so lucky Anna."

"Uh…and why am I lucky?"

"You didn't get stuck with powers you don't understand, or with feelings dating back from another lifetime that tie you to one of the most psychotic, revenge obsessed, sadistic villains of all time, you managed to somehow end up still somewhat normal even after getting sucked into this world. You aren't a villain magnet, and I thank god for that…Do you know how scary it is to keep having flashbacks from my previous life? I still have some really bad stuff I need to relive and it could happen at any time." Rain took in her friend's worried expression, giving her a tiny smile. "I'm sorry Anna, I'm a little bit freaked out, because aside from everything _else_ I'm dealing with, I somehow ended up possibly going to the shadow realm in my sleep last night." At that Anna's eyes widened considerably,

"You what?!"

"Ok, do you want me to start from the beginning? Cause I'm still trying to figure out if it was all a dream or not still." When Anna nodded, Rain continued.

"Well, I had this dream."

"More memories?"

"No…Not memories." Anna waited, obviously still very worried about her friend. Rain knew she would tell her as much as she really could, she had trouble not telling Anna absolutely everything, if Anna knew she held anything back, it wouldn't be hard for her to get it all out in the end. This was the way they had always been for years, the two were utterly devoted to each other in a way that most people found rather strange, Rain figured that their ancient pasts were a contribution factor to that behavior. You'd think they were twins sometimes, Rain was sure that they shared brainwaves, thus making it extremely hard to keep certain things to herself for long…now that Bakura was in the picture though, she didn't think he'd like it much if she divulged everything that happened between them to anyone, whether it was her best friend or not. When it came to anything involving him, she felt as though she had to be _so_ careful about what she told the others. God knew what he'd do if he got mad enough at her for saying the wrong thing to the wrong people. She noticed Anna's worried look shifting to one of impatience and continued, "It was a nightmare really, a bad one…then Ryo showed up."

"Uh…Ryo, as in Ryo Bakura was in your dream?"

"Do you know any other Ryos here?" Rain grumbled, earning a small laugh from her friend.

"Wonder why you dream't about him, I mean, I know you have a _thing_ with his homicidal yami, but--" Rain cut her off,

"No Anna, I didn't dream _about_ him…I think he was actually there, and I don't have a _thing_ with Bakura, it's a relationship, however strange it is. Anyway, Ryo helped--"

"How the hell would Ryo be in your dream? He's in the shadow realm so I don't see how that would be possible. Though you'de think, if he was there, why wasn't Bakura?" Anna was in a particularily sceptical mood it seemed, Rain scowled at her friend.

"You've been hanging out with Kaiba too much Anna, his scepticism is starting to rub off on you."

Anna blushed slightly, "I can't help it Rain, lately I've been wondering if all the stress you're under is causing you to lose it a little."

Rain rolled her eyes, "I'm not going crazy Anna, not yet anyway. Can I continue telling you what happened now?"

"Ok. And Seto's not rubbing off on me, it's just hard to tell what's real and what's not in this place. You know what I mean."

"He's Seto to you now? Hmmm…I sense gossip material."

Anna turned bright red, "I…It's not like that!"

Rain grinned and made a mental note to bug Anna about 'Seto' later…she continued explaining her dream. "Anyway, When the dream began, I was alone surrounded by darkness…as in, it was so dark that I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. After a moment or two I felt as though there was a presence there with me, I called out but didn't get an answer. All I had was a feeling, I couldn't even hear anything."

"Of course there was no answer. Dark scary place, in a nightmare…I bet it was an axe murderer or something freaky like that."

"_Anna_…"

"Ok ok, get on with it then. What happened next?"

"Well, a door actually randomly appeared in front of me, I went through it since I figured that a door showing up in front of you during a dream means you have to go through it…well, anyway, suddenly I found myself in a creepy field. No signs of life anywhere…I walked for a bit then I saw…"Rain paused, "I saw my fears I think…not all of them, but my deepest, darkest fear was right in front of me…It wasn't pretty. I was terrified, but moments after I saw what I did, Ryo showed up beside me and helped me try to make sense of what exactly I was seeing and why. I asked if he was really there and he wasn't entirely sure." She wasn't sure how far she wanted to go into detail about how she went from her dream to the shadow realm. Rain told Anna about how her and Ryo had went back through the door and run into Bakura, Rain didn't go indepth about her conversation with him, she had another reason not to talk about what they said to each other too much, there was the fact that he really may be listening somehow. Rain wouldn't have put it past him, the guy was insanely talented when it came to being sneaky and was powerful enough to be able to do god knows what. He was so mysterious that Rain doubted anyone actually knew everything he could do. She didn't want him to be angry enough to follow through with any of his many threats against her. Ever. Anna looked vaguely annoyed when she was done talking, Rain wasn't entired sure why.

"Uh…Did I say something wrong?"

"No…It's just…I'm so worried about Marik getting to you…and now I find out that I still have to worry about Bakura going all crazy and hurting you too. Since we ended up here it's been one thing after another." When Rain opened her mouth to speak up Anna shook her head, "I know you're going to tell me not to worry about Bakura, that he cares about you or something, but think about it. Everything I know about him from our world makes him out to be an unfeeling, very intelligent, homicidal sociopath. Even you've said that he makes an excellent villain, that he's incredibly evil. The fact that he lasts throughout the entire series of--"

"Anna, don't say too much, you don't know who could be listening. For all we know, there's cameras and shit everywhere."

"Rain, honestly…I don't think it matters what we say anymore. I know you don't care either or you would have never tried to stop Bakura from duelling Marik…anyway…what I was saying is that Bakura has surpassed all other villains I have ever heard of, which on it's own says a lot about his character. I think whether he cares for you or not, he's still extremely unstable and sadistic, thus warranting a good amount of worrying on my part. Even if you don't agree with me, just take some time to try to understand my point of view."

"…I don't disagree with you, we both know he can be far more frightening than Marik could ever hope to be, because they both may be crazy and evil, but adding that to Bakura's patience, and a good amount of intelligence…not to mention him being a decent actor…well, it makes him truly formidable. Also, I can predict what Marik will do in a given situation…but Bakura is never predictable…and _that_ is the one thing that truly scares me about him. I can handle crazy and evil, as long as it isn't directed at me, but I never know what will set him off…I love him anyway though…no matter what."

"That's what worries me Rain, that man is _worse_ than Marik. He's smart, and very much determined."

"I know, it's not like he's in my head though, I merely accidentally bumped into him in the shadow realm…Not that I minded, there are worse things I could have bumped into…_and_ I have this feeling that no matter how unpredictable or crazy he gets, even if he won and caused the end of the world as we know it, he would never outright kill me…because even if he says otherwise, I know he cares about me. Even if he says he's not capable. Because if he didn't feel anything other than lust, I would be dead already." Rain sighed, time to change the subject…Anna gave her a questioning look when she looked intently at her, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"What?"

"So, what exactly is going on between you and _Seto_?" The grin got bigger as Anna's face turned about fifty shades of red in about three seconds.

"Uh…Nothing!"

"Uh Huh. Sure. _That's_ why you're with him _constantly_. Nothing."

Rain watched with amusement as her friend sputtered momentarily before fixing a glare on her, "We're _friends_…I mean, I like him but…" Her face reddened again, making Rain giggle, she was relieved she'd steered the conversation away from Bakura and her safety. She'd been feeling seriously irritated with the way Anna had been talking…as though Rain should stay away from him…too late for that anyway, it seemed as though the two were like magnets. Rain couldn't even stay away from him in her _sleep_ apparently. Willing or not, she had a feeling they would be stuck together forever. The fan girl in her rejoiced at that thought, but the rest of her brain was torn between happiness and intense fear at the prospect. She tore her thoughts from him, instead focusing on Kaiba and Anna. _That_ was an almost normal relationship…hm…well, it _could_ be…perhaps a little matchmaker work would be due if the two of them needed a little push in the right direction.

"So, you like him _obviously_ since you've always been a Kaiba fan, and he must like you too…Don't look at me like that, I've seen him almost smile at you more than once, and I doubt all the times he's stolen you away from me had to do with just work." Anna smiled at that, blushing again,

"Well, he _did_ call me cute…" She was about to continue when Rain burst into a fit of giggles. She calmed down enough to speak after a moment or two,

"Seto Kaiba called someone _cute_?! Does he even know the meaning of that word?"

Anna smiled again, "I had the same reaction."

"You actually laughed when he called you cute? That's not very nice Anna…It probably bruised the poor ice cube's ego. I doubt he's ever seen someone laugh at him before."

"I…Oh, Rain…I told him why I laughed, so I fixed it, and he's not an ice cube!"

"Okay, he's a robot then." At that Anna couldn't help but laugh,

"Not all the time…"

Rain's eyes widened, "So you're admitting he's a robot?" Anna sweat dropped,

"You know what I mean you turd!"

"Did you just call me a turd?"

"Ugh! Rain!!! Anyway, what the hell would you do if Bakura called you cute…well, when he's not being sarcastic… I couldn't help but laugh. It was totally weird and unexpected!"

Rain thought to herself for a moment, then grinned. "If Bakura ever called me cute…well, I would be too surprised to do much of anything…I would probably just sit there in stunned silence before asking if I heard right. I wouldn't laugh though, at least not out loud anyway."

"Why not? He's worse that Kaiba when it comes to stuff like that."

"Hey! He's no ice cube, he's more like a flame, come too close and that temper of his burns you…besides that, would _you_ laugh at Bakura?"

Anna sighed, "No, but why wouldn't _you_?…and should I even bother with the damn ice cube thing?"

"No." Rain answered with a laugh, "Isn't it obvious why I wouldn't laugh at him? I have no insane urge to end up with my soul separated from my body or worse, and that tends to happen when people piss him off." At her friend's expression, she rolled her eyes, "laughing at him when he's trying to be nice…_if_ that were to happen, would ignite his already short fuse."

"Oh. Alright then." Suddenly there was a loud boom, making both girls jump and look towards the source of the noice. The door. Rain jumped to her feet,

"What the hell was that?!" There was a series of bangs, which sounded like a fist hammering on the door. Then a muffled voice gave her the answer,

"I know you're in there sweatheart! Now, come open this door like a good girl!" Marik. Shit. Rain glanced over at Anna, who had gone very pale.

"Oh my god Rain, what are we gonna do? That's the only door!"

Rain looked around before cursing quietly, "Damnit! Why the hell isn't there a fire escape door or something!" She ran towards the window, but they were too high from the floor to jump, "Ugh, well…the most we can do is hide."

"Ra-ain! Open the do-or!" Marik yelled in a singsong voice, "If I have to break it down I'll be very angry! I'm sure you value your friend's soul enough to comply, my dear. You don't want me to be angry now, do you?" He continued darkly. Rain froze, horrified, and looked at Anna, who shook her head.

"Don't even think about it." She whispered.

"Anna, how the hell does he know you're with me?" She took a step towards the door, "I can't let him hurt you!"

"Rain, don't be stupid, he's not going to let either of us walk out of here whether you let him in or not. You know that." Anna's voice was trembling in fear, Rain realized her friend hadn't had any direct contact with Marik yet…he hadn't paid too much attention to her, likely because she was usually with Kaiba. Rain cursed again.

"Anna, Hide. I won't open the door, but I'm going to have to fight him when he breaks the thing down. I need you out of sight and out of the line of fire."

Her friend looked about to argue, but thought better of it and ran into the bathroom, Rain helped her squeeze into the towel cupboard, she had just closed it when there was a very loud BOOM, then another crash from the other room.

"I see you chose the hard way." Rain stood frozen, she heard a small gasp from the cupboard. He was in. Rain heard him chuckle evilly, "Going to play hide and seek are we? Come out, come out wherever you are!" She heard another crash, it sounded like he had tossed a piece of furnature or something…maybe the table? Rain made a split second decision, she didn't want to have this confrontation in the bathroom with Anna so close, so she strode out cautiously. Where was he? She saw the upturned table, and what was left of the door, as she took another step, a sharp pain shot through her foot, causing her to gasp softly in surprise and without thinking she bent down to remove the small shard of broken glass from her foot…She made sure to step away from that spot, now slightly favouring her right foot. -Cripes…Where _is_ he? I know he's just toying with me…- It didn't help that the lights were off and the only light was coming through the two windows in the main room of the suite. There were far too many shadows to hide in, and the suite consisted of three separate rooms, Rain wished she had more light, but didn't want to cross the room to the lightswitch...she had a feeling it wouldn't work anyway, since Marik had pulverized the door beside it, those wires had likely been fried too. She was about to turn into the bedroom but froze when she felt a caress down the length of her spine.

"Found you."

……………………………….......................................................................................................

Yeah, I'm evil. Don't worry, I'll update soon, -grin- Alright people! Read and Review! I love you! No flames please, I really am trying! Oh, but constructive criticism is good, and I'd love it if anyone has any ideas or hints! Thankyou to everyone who had favorited or reviewed my story, it means a lot to me!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Weak**

_**EgyptianSoul: Yay! Chapter 8! This chapter actually freaked me out…Marik is a woman's worst nightmare…except prettier… so…yeah, this chapter's creepy, a little violent, and kind of random I think…**_

_**Bakura: You're sadistic.**_

_**EgyptianSoul: . Excuse me, mr. I-get-off-at-the-sight-of-blood? And why do you say I'm sadistic?**_

_**Bakura: You torture the shit out of the main character.**_

_**EgyptianSoul: Would you do it any different?**_

_**Bakura: That's not the point.**_

_**EgyptianSoul: Oh shutup, -grin- Thanks all for reviewing last chapter! I'm so glad you liked it, I was a little worried about that one to be honest. Alright, a warning for this one, there's possible violence, attempted rape, all around evil nastiness, and bad language. I wrote it after like, seven cups of coffee…which makes me a tad crazier than usual…**_

_**Bakura: Seven? Hmmm…I think my record is is 46... -smirk- Dare you to beat it.**_

_**EgyptianSoul:You're on. Now hurry up and do the disclaimer so I can start the chapter.**_

_**Bakura: Fine. EgyptianSoul doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If she did she'd give me a far better ending.**_

………………………………_**.....................................................................................................**_

**She was about to turn into the bedroom but froze when she felt a caress down the length of her spine.**

"**Found you."**

"**Marik." Rain whispered, trying to steady herself as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, she gasped when he jerked her against his chest and nuzzled her neck. "Let go of me, Marik." She spoke quietly, he chuckled against her, his breath tickling her throat. Rain shuddered at the sensation. -He may be attractive on the surface…but inside, he is utterly revolting…- She jumped slightly as she felt his tongue trail up her neck to her earlobe. -Ugh…did he just **_**lick**_** me?! Ewwwwww! Ok…focus Rain, gotta get away from the creepy bastard…- **

"**Marik, didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't go around licking people? It's not sanitary."**

"**But you taste so **_**good**_**…" Rain gagged internally at that as he proceeded to nip her ear as though it would help prove his point. She shuddered,**

"**Ok, I've seriously had enough of this crap you freaking creep. Let go of me or else!"**

"**Or else what?" He growled in her ear, his almost playful tone gone, she didn't answer merely smirking and focusing on making fire leap out from her arms onto his. Marik let go with an undignified yelp. (A/N: What on earth would that sound like?) Rain whirled around in his moment of surprise to face him. -wow…he looks pissed…-He was giving her a death glare that would make any sane person piss themselves, then run for their lives. Hell, it rivalled Bakura's worst, and that was definitely saying something! She crossed her arms, ignoring the feeling of fear spreading throughout her body and glared back at him with all she had. **

"**I'm sure you know not to play with fire unless you want to get burnt, common sense really." He growled in response, appearing too irritated to come up with anything to say for a moment, suddenly a deranged grin spread across his features.**

"**I **_**was**_** going to play nice with you…but you obviously **_**love**_** to do things the hard way…" He cocked his head to the side in a vaguely cat-like motion, "Where's your little friend?"**

**Rain felt a jolt of terror stir in her heart, almost like a physical pain, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'd assume she went with the others…wherever **_**they**_** are." -Oh please Anna, stay in the closet and don't make a sound…- Marik smirked,**

"**I see. You do realize I could hear you two talking on the other side of the door, right? You can't fool me, woman." He laughed as a frown flitted across Rain's face. "It won't be hard to flush her out."**

"**I won't let you hurt her."**

"**Oh, you think so? And how do you plan on stopping me **_**princess**_**?"**

**He ducked, laughing, as a ball of fire shot at his head, followed shortly by a chunk of ice, which crashed loudly into the wall before breaking apart. Rain ignored the strain she felt, knowing, from what Yami had said at some point, that using too much magical energy too fast could drain her reserves for hours…Rain hoped she could get away from Marik before that happened. It was strange that she was already feeling a small amount of weakness though, she hadn't been using any magic at all that day, so **_**why was her magic so much weaker than usual**_**? -Think of that later…focus on murdering the horny maniac first.-**

"**So, you've given up on Malik and just plan to kill me now? That's not like you my dear." He dodged another couple fireballs, Rain felt sweat growing on the back of her neck as she focused.**

"**Hold still so I can kill you, asshole." She snarled, irritated.**

"**Oh, but this is more fun. Your open hostility just makes me want you even more." He laughed at her some more, adding to her anger. She concentrated harder and tried shooting a steady stream of water at the giggling psychopath. Wait, giggling? -What is he, two?- She growled, "Gah! If I can't torch you, I'll drown you instead!" The water would have hit him in the face if he hadn't somehow created some sort of shadow magic barrier with the sennen rod. At least he stopped the giggling. That would have gotten really annoying, really fast. Rain's water blast weakened due to her own confusion. "How the hell are you shielding yourself? I though I was more powerful that your sennen rod!" She shouted, changing to a stream of fire to see what would happen…nope, he was still blocking her. He grinned in that psychotic manner of his, Rain could see the malicious glee in his eyes.**

"**Well, for one, you're so very inexperienced with magic in this lifetime dear, you were only incredibly powerful three thousand years ago because you'd had **_**years**_** of training…which you obviously don't remember." He chuckled darkly, "Oh, and you're lacking your usual strength. **_**Someone's**_** been using magic carelessly."**

"**W-what are you talking about?"**

**He rolled his eyes, "**_**Surely**_** you've been told that if you use too much power too fast you'll, for lack of better wods, **_**run out**_**."**

**Rain glared at him, "Of course I know that, but I haven't used any magic recently….aside from this lovely little fight we're having."**

**He raised a golden brow, "Well, I don't know what to tell you. I can feel how weak you are…any normal attack from you would shatter my shadow shield. It speaks for itself…If you have no memory of doing magic, you really should try to figure out why you've been drained and how….not that I'm complaining." He added with a smirk, "This just makes this easier for me."**

**At this point, Rain's anger had faded somewhat and she could **_**really**_** feel the weakness setting in…it was like the big ball of energy she often pictured in her mind as the source of her power had gone from being the size of a basketball down to the size of a golfball…and it was still shrinking…-**_**Oh no…**_**- **

"**Of course, aside from **_**that**_** the fact that the spirit of the ring is in the shadow realm isn't helping you any."**

**Now Rain was lost, "What does that have to do with the state of my powers?"**

**His smirk widened, "You really think I would tell you that? You'll remember eventually…Just know you aren't **_**nearly **_**the powerful woman you **_**could**_** be."**

"**What the hell do you mean by that?"**

**He laughed, "Fool. Why bother asking anything else when you **_**know**_** I wouldn't tell you…It would be pointless if you knew everything right now, considering your situation. Your little **_**soul mate**_** can't help you now anyway."**

"**S-Soul mate?"**

**Marik gave her a blank stare, then tilted his head back and laughed some more, this time loudly, making Rain shiver.**

"**Anyone ever tell you that you laugh **_**way**_** too often?"**

"**Well, now someone has my dear." He said, before letting loose another disturbing cackle. "I don't have to explain the concept of soul mates to you now, do I? Because I really don't feel like doing that, I've decided I shall take his place as your soul mate anyway."**

"**Uh…I really don't think it works that way whether he's actually my soul mate or not."**

"**I'll make it work."**

"**You're insane."**

" **You know, your little friends said the same thing. What's your point?" He smiled creepishly, "You know, your dependence on the **_**darkness**_** will be your downfall, as it was before."**

"**W-What?"**

"**You'll figure it all out eventually…but it will be far to late by then."**

"**Stop rambling Marik, it's getting really annoying…If you want me to know something, just bloody well tell me, if not, then shut the hell up about it!" He gave a mock bow, holding his cape in front of him, reminding Rain of one of those old vampire movies.**

"**As you wish, your majesty, dear princess." Rain glared at him, her hatred written all over her face. She'd actually thought he was kind of cool back when he'd just been a harmless character in a story to her, well, she'd liked all the Yamis, really. Yami Yugi was brimming with confidence, he was a pillar for his friends when they needed him and was very kind to good people, only causing someone harm if they threatened others, Marik had just been a wicked sort of villain, one that gave her chills Yami or not. He'd been just…**_**crazy**_** and Rain had found this highly entertaining…besides, he admitted to being crazy which not too many villains do…that Rain had seen anyway. Yami Bakura had always been her favorite character though, not that she'd ever been a rabid fan girl, but she'd always admired him for his strong determination and high level of intelligence. He was brave and deeply scarred by a horrible past, partially influenced by Zorc, who was pretty much the devil himself…Not to mention, Bakura was very easy on the eyes…Rain pondered about the fact that Marik had always freaked her out, now that she thought of it, maybe a small part of herself had remembered that he'd pretty much caused her death in her past life. Well, she may have thought him cool when he'd been only a cartoon character to her, but now was a whole different story. To put it bluntly, she hated his guts. Oh, and he didn't just give her shivers or freak her out anymore, **_**now**_** he **_**really**_** scared the crap out of her. Rain was jolted out of her mental wanderings when Marik took a step towards her,**

"**Don't even think about it. I may not have that much energy left right this minute but I can still toast your ass, or drown you, shit head!" Rain was trying as hard as she could to NOT show how weary she was beginning to feel…Her head was pounding and her stomach felt terrible.- Damnit…I can't keep this up.- Marik ignored her and grabbed her arms roughly, Rain caught the smirk on his face as he slammed her into the wall behind her, which in turn caused her already abused muscles cry out in dismay. He brought his face within inches of her own, **

"**I just **_**love**_** that spirit of yours…you know what I'm going to do to you, darling?" The hands gripping her shoulders now squeezed painfully hard as he practically lifted her off the ground and shoved her back against the wall again with more of his weight thrown into the action, Rain was unable to hold in her gasp of pain. His lips brushed against hers in a mockingly intimate way as he continued, his every word making Rain feel naucious. "I'm going to finally tear your pretty skin and taste your lovely crimson blood…It will be sweet I'm sure, the blood of such a creature as yourself would be the sweetest of all…I've wanted to do that for a**_** long**_** time…Then I'm going to finish what I started before and make you mine in **_**every**_** way. You will become my own precious little puppet…my **_**powerful**_** little puppet…" He was speaking in a disturbingly childlike tone that was scaring Rain more than anything he'd done before, not that she'd let him know that. His words were cutting through her like glass and she wished she could turn off her poor ears…-God, He's **_**sick**_**…I mean, I knew that already…but ugh…my blood? Seriously? I'd rather **_**die **_**than go through what he obviously has planned for me…- He shook her violently, Rain saw stars as her head thwacked against the wall.**

"**You aren't **_**listening**_**…I shall truly enjoy making you learn obedience. You will learn quickly, I'm sure…You will scream until you no longer have a voice to do so and I will relish in your **_**tears**_**. By the time I'm finished you will be nothing but a broken doll, and you will be all **_**mine**_**."**

"**Hey, Marik." Rain whispered, He cocked his head slightly,**

"**Yes, **_**sweatheart**_**?"**

"**Go to Hell…" Rain was suddenly stunned as he backhanded her across the face visciously. "**_**Ow….**_**" He smirked coldly,**

"**You know what my finishing touch will be? If nothing else breaks you, **_**this**_** will…I'm going to plant my seed inside of you." He poked Rain in the stomach for emphasis, she glared at him. **

"**I would rather **_**die**_** than allow that to happen and you know it."**

" **You won't have a **_**choice**_**…You will have **_**my**_** offspring this time…hmm…perhaps I'll even let the almighty Thief King watch, just to rub my victory in." By now Rain had paled considerably, she **_**had**_** to get away from this…**_**creep**_**…but how? She barely had enough magical strength left to throw one measly fireball, how was she supposed to get away from this monster?**

"**Leave Bakura out of this." Rain growled.**

"**Hm…Why should I?" His gaze was mocking her.**

"**Because, if he was already within the ring at the point of our first confrontation, this has nothing to do with him. It's my fight, and I'll **_**win**_**."**

**Marik gave a low chuckle, "So, in other words, you are trying to protect him because you feel that seeing me **_**taking**_** your innocence will scar him irreparably?"**

"**Just Shut UP!!! You're a disgusting, deranged, sick PIG and you don't deserve to be call a MAN you're a FUCKING **_**THING**_**!!!" -hm, that felt good…I feel sick…-**

**FWAP! Rain teared up slightly when he hit her this time, **_**that**_** was definitely going to bruise, she turned her head so he wouldn't see her tears.**

"**Don't tell me to shut up wench." He hissed, hitting her again, then as she tried to talk back he slammed his lips onto her own brutally, forcing his tongue into her mouth, Rain gagged, making him crush her against the wall harder, causing pain to shoot through her body. Forcing herself not to think about her body for a moment, Rain focused enough to channel her fire through her hands, slamming then against his chest as hard as she could as he started trying to force her into the bedroom. This caused him to gasp in surprise and pain, giving Rain a chance to kick him good and hard **_**right**_** between the legs. Needless to say, like any normal guy, he dropped like a rock, cursing a blue streak as she ran around his fallen figure back into the main part of the suite, taking note briefly of the damage she'd caused to the poor walls, she nearly slammed into Anna as she ran towards the bathroom.**

"**Ack! Why aren't you hiding?!" She whispered breathlessly, Anna gripped her shoulders, peering at her with wide eyes.**

"**I-I couldn't let you stay out here alone with **_**him**_**, w-what happened to the room? I heard banging and yelling but…and where's--"**

"**Anna, we don't have time! Talk later, Run now!" Rain spoke quickly as she glanced around wildly, hoping to whatever god watching that Marik had not gotten up yet. She couldn't see him…-F-ing shadows…- "We have to go NOW!!!"**

"**Like I want to stay? Where's Marik?" Anna questioned as the girls ran towards the door.**

"**I'm right here." Both girls squeaked, he'd somehow ended up standing near the door, closer than they were…thus blocking the exit somewhat…-crapcrapcrapcrap!!!!- Rain squealed in her mind, he looked beyond pissed off…He looked downright murderous…and still managed that sick grin while doing so, arms crossed in his typical pose. "Hello Adina or…what's your name now? Anna, isn't it?" Both girls stood frozen for a moment, Anna frowned at him, **

"**I hope you aren't expecting me to be polite to you, asshole. I don't take kindly to creepy jerks trying to molest my friends and take over the world."**

**Marik gave her a mock-offended expression. "Oh, I'm hurt…modern girls sure don't have any qualms with using such filthy language, do they?" **

**Both girls merely glared at him, making him laugh menacingly, then Anna did something very unexpected. She quickly bent down, grabbed her shoe from the floor, and promptly threw it at him. Said shoe hit him squarely on the nose, cutting him off mid-laugh. **

"**RUN!!!" She screamed, Rain didn't need to be told twice as they both ran past the stunned psychopath, darting into the hallway and booking it around the first corner they came to, neither of them expected a slender hand to yank them into a random room they happened to be running past**

"**AAAHHH!!!" Both girls screamed before falling on the floor, looking up at a concerned Ishizu. "Oh…hi…"**

"**Hello girls…uh…I suppose my brother…"Ishizu paused, "No…the imposter in my brothers body…found you?"**

"**Uh…yeah…we were hiding out in Yugi's room, but he found us in there…" Suddenly a horrified expression crossed Anna's face, "Gods Rain! What happened to your face?!"**

**Rain gave her friend a 'duh' look, "What do you think? Marik isn't a nice guy, and I pissed him off…"**

"**Ishizu grabbed some ice from the mini fridge, sticking it in a bag and some cloth. "Here…this should help…it won't bruise as badly." Rain accepted the ice and placed it on her right cheek, which hurt slightly more than the left.**

"**Um…Rain…your lip is bleeding a little too…" Rain sighed, and wiped the blood off on her arm, not really caring how it looked. She could feel that her lips were swolen…but that's what happens when a psycho tries to pulverize you with his face. She giggled slightly at that thought, making the other two women in the room give her stange looks. "Uh…sorry…you know, I never thought I'd ever be molested and threatened by a psychotic anime villain…but then I guess I never though **_**anything**_** that's happened in the last few weeks would or could ever happen to **_**anyone**_** let alone me…" Ishizu sighed, and Anna nodded in agreement.**

"**Yeah, our lives have certainly gotten weird."**

**The girls stood up off the floor and walked with Ishizu to the couch, where they were both questioned about Marik. After Rain's story of what had happened while Anna had been in the closet both Anna and Ishizu were horrified. **

"**Oh my God!!! Rain, I could have helped you!" **

"**No Anna…he would have just sent you to the shadow realm, which I could not allow. That would have crushed me, not to mention you would go through hell and I mean, what if I couldn't get you back? I don't know what would happen to your mind if you got stuck there for a long period of time."**

" **Rain, you are correct. So…from what you are saying, is it safe to assume your power is greatly weakened at the moment?" Ishizu's knowing blue eyes fixed on her own as Rain looked over at her. She nodded,**

"**Yes. I don't have the strength to fight against his sennen rod at the moment…Uh, on that thought… is it possible to go to the shadow realm in a dream?"**

"**It depends…for most people, no. But you…well, in truth there is very little information anywhere telling us what exactly you can do, so I wouldn't doubt it."**

"**Well, Marik noticed that I wasn't at full strength…I think I went to the shadow realm and talked to Bakura last night in my sleep."**

**Ishizu stared at her thoughtfully, "Hm…well, that would certainly explain your weakened state. You didn't do it consciously?"**

"**No. Actually, there was a strange door linking the shadow realm and my dream together. Ryou Bakura happened to walk into my dream…it's a tad confusing…"**

"**Ok, start from the beginning." **

**So Rain told the older Egyptian woman what she'd told Anna about the dream when she'd first woke up, when she was done, Ishizu looked incredibly thoughtful.**

"**So maybe your power doesn't only manifest as the elements…maybe there are other things you can do. Hm…Have you been able to use the power of light?"**

**Rain shook her head, "No. I'm starting to wonder if I even have it."**

"**Oh you have it, I had a vision a while ago…of the past. Rayana was forced to use the power of light, but what I found odd was that it was only used when she was at her most desperate. I have a hunch that the power of light can only be summoned with immense concentration, or an incredible amount of fear and desperation. It is a power that is within your soul, far deeper than the other powers you have on the surface, and far more powerful." **

"**But I thought it was considered an element."**

"**I don't know what it is exactly…light can be many things. My theory is that the true power of balance is your light, and the thief king's darkness. The elemental power comes with it because so many have come after the light, it had to develop further power to protect itself from all the evil force in the world that misunderstand it's true power. Your soul will forever be attached to the spirit of the ring because you are the light, and he is the darkness."**

"**So like yin and yang?" Anna threw in, **

"**Good and evil?" Rain pondered aloud. Ishizu smiled,**

"**Yeah…though I'm not sure about the good and evil…just remember this is only a theory, ok? No one really knows the truth." **

"**It's a start though…I feel a little better knowing even a theory about my power. But…isn't Ryou Bakura's light half?"**

"**Well, yes…but in a different sense…I believe they are a part of each other, as Ryou is his reincarnation, the same as with the pharoah and Yugi."**

"**Like your brother and mr. psycho-rapist-obsessive-nutcase guy too?" Anna asked, Rain raise a brow and put a comforting hand on Ishizu's shoulder.**

"**Anna, a little tact please."**

"**It's alright Rain, it's the truth. Though it's likely far more complicated than that."**

**Rain put a hand to her head, "I say we stop talking about it…I'm getting a headache from over thinking."**

"**Alright."**

**BANG BANG BANG**

**All three women jumped, Rain groaned.**

"**Not **_**again**_**. He found us already?"**

"**Well, it's not that hard considered there aren't may people around."**

"**Anna, shut up."**

**Ishizu stood in front of them, taking a protective stance as the door burst open and Marik walked in calmly, he stopped, looked at them, then his mouth spread into a wide grin.**

"**Hello **_**sister**_**," He met Rain's glare, chuckling slightly, he gave a mock bow. "**_**princess**_**, I'm a little bit insulted that you ran away from me like that…and I believe you should teach your little friend some manners, thowing shoes at people isn't very nice, you know." Before either girl could speak his gaze snapped back to Ishizu, who was staring at him coolly.**

"**Dear sister, I have a question for you. Where have you hidden Rishid? Him and I have a little appointment that can't wait." He chuckled as though he'd said something funny. Rain rolled her eyes, but stayed silent as he walked towards them, stopping when he was standing less than a foot away from his…well, **_**Malik's**_** sister. "Tell me."**

"**Give my brother back."**

"**Heh…your brother's gone. He's never coming back, I destroyed him already."**

"**Well, I won't let you take Rishid too."**

**He rolled his eyes, "Fine then woman. Give me the princess, I'll find Rishid anyway, it's not that hard."**

"**You won't hurt anyone else. You cannot have Rain."**

**His eyes narrowed dangerously, "You think you have any say in the matter? You don't even have your sennen tauk anymore so how exactly do you plan on stopping me from taking what I want?"**

**Ishizu didn't move, nor speak but Marik could obviously see that she was afraid. He laughed at her fear, then shoved her aside suddenly and grabbed Rain's wrist. She glared at him hatefully.**

"**Let go of me, bastard."**

"**Hm…nope. I don't think I will." Suddenly to Rain and Marik's surprise Anna jumped to action, she'd gotten a small switchblade from…well, somewhere, and swiped at his wrist with it, he winced and let go, allowing both girls to bolt towards the door yet again. Rain knew he wouldn't kill his host's sister, there was enough of Malik left to prevent **_**that**_** so she let Anna drag her out into the hallway, but this time Marik wasn't slowed down by any shoes to the face, he caught them easily right after they got out the door, grabbing both girls by an arm and throwing them bodily only the floor. **

"**Ow…" Anna grumbled, Rain gave her a look that said why-the-hell-did-you-do-that, she shrugged and gave Rain a look back that pretty much said she'd try to protect her whether she liked it or not. Rain rolled her eyes in response as Marik paced the floor in front of them, a small amount of blood now dripping from the wound Anna had caused on his wrist. He glared at Anna, who shuddered visibly.**

"**You are determined to get in my way aren't you, insolent little fool."**

"**Well, did you think I'de just sit there and watch why you try to hurt my best friend? I think You're the fool here."**

**Rain stared at Anna wide eyed, -Oh my god…she just called Marik a fool…Gah! And I don't have much power right now, magic or physical! Stupid!!!…and since when was she this gutsy anyway?- Rain continued freaking out mentally as Marik took another step towards them, laughing softly in an angry-psycho sort of way…who knew there was such thing as an angry laugh? **

**Anna put herself in between him and Rain, much to Rain's irritation.**

"**Anna! What are you **_**doing**_**?!" She hissed at her friend, "Do you **_**want**_** him to kill you? I can handle myself!-"**

"**No. I am your protector, I don't exactly know how to do it, but I will try my hardest to protect you every way I can! You're my best friend Rain, I'm not going to stand by while someone hurts you! That would be unforgivable!"**

"**You may be my protector, but not a physical one!! You've always protected my heart! Everytime someone hurts me, you're always there to pick me back up! **_**That's**_** what you're protecting, because without my heart, if I was ever completely, irreparably broken, I would **_**die**_**!! Because, if I lose my hope, there's nothing left and I will only ever have hope as long as my heart doesn't break! So get out of the way!"**

"**NO! I won't let him come any closer to you!"**

**Marik began to laugh, watching the dialogue between the two worn out girls. He leaned down and gripped Anna's chin, forcing her to look at him and halting their conversation.**

"**As much fun as it is to listen to you two, I'm going to have to put an end to your irritating existence now. I told you, little Anna, that if you continued to get in my way, annoying me like this, that you would enjoy the shadow realm far before Rain does, instead of history repeating itself and you running off to another realm **_**together….**_**I can either kill you, or send you to the shadow realm, which would you prefer?"**

"…" **Anna didn't answer, it was taking all of her strength to not show her fear, but like a wild animal, she was sure he could smell it. Rain pulled Anna from Marik's grasp with shaking hands, stunning her friend slightly as she put almost all of the magical energy she had left to muster at the moment into her right hand and threw it like a softball at Marik, he wasn't quite able to put up a full shield against it, due to it being a surprise attack, and went flying backwards, crashing into the small table near the entrance of the room.**

"**Get up and run Anna!" Rain yelled, yanking her friend's arm and attempting to run past Marik as he began to stand. He thrust his sennen rod out and Rain realized Anna couldn't follow her. The glow around her for showed her it was Marik's work, Anna could not move a muscle, Rain turned to Marik despite knowing Anna wanted her to keep running.**

"**Let her go, you want me, she has nothing to do with this."**

**He shook his head, smirking, "I would have been kind enough to leave her alone if she didn't continually choose to involve herself." He held up his still slightly bleeding wrist, Rain flinched slightly as he licked his cut, his tongue flicking out like a cat's. "She injured me. Threw a shoe at me too. Insulted me, I could go on…but I'm sure you understand that such acts cannot go unpunished. She wants so badly to be involved in this, I might as well allow it now. He drew the sennen rod's hidden blade, walking up to Anna's still figure. Rain felt fear squeezing her heart as tears flowed down Anna's cheeks. Marik laughed, pressing the dagger just over the poor girl's heart, barely piercing the flesh beneath her shirt.**

"**Well, since she hasn't answered, I suppose I'll make the decision." He looked into Rain's eyes as he spoke, revelling in whatever fear he could see there. "I could kill her." Anna whimpered as he dug the blade a little bit deeper into her flesh. "Or send her to the shadow realm, where the dark things there will feast on her soul." The room darkened slightly, and Rain could feel the hungry eyes of the creatures of the shadow realm on them. She shivered, trying to give Anna some strength through her eyes. It seemed to work a little bit, because her tears waned slightly, but the grim acceptance that replace the fear was almost worse than the fear itself. Both girls knew what he was about to do. Or at least, had a feeling. Marik's evil smirk grew, but his face changed to a look of shock as someone…no…Ishizu ran and body checked him away from the girls. He caught himself though and threw Malik's sister away from him, immobilizing her with the rod as well. "I do admire your courage, dear sister. But you should know by now that you can't stop me. Don't annoy me anymore, or I will no longer be lenient with you and you will join others that have crossed me in the shadow realm." He cocked him head, "Or I can kill you. Just a fair warning." He brought his attention back to Anna, Rain was trying to use the little magic she could to get her friend free of his spell and it was almost working. "Oh, we can't have **_**that**_**. Heh…I think death would be too easy for you. I'll let enjoy the shadows, how about that." Rain flinched back from the bright light the rod emmited, catching her friend's form as the now soulless body fell. **

"**No…oh God…" Rain felt like a dam broke inside her as tears fell from her eyes, she heard heart broken sobbing, it took her a few moments before she realized she was making the noise. **

**/**_**Run.**_**/ **

**-Bakura? Oh god...Anna I'm so sorry…- Marik was laughing again, Ishizu was in a heap on the floor across the room. His back was turned from Rain, he was holding the dagger threateningly over Ishizu's form. Rain felt the roar of pure rage coming from her small form before she let it loose, She stood slowly, then kicked him in the spine, making the man stumble slightly before he turned to face her.**

"**Let's finish this. Now. You've done enough damage, leave Ishizu alone." Rain growled, a small part of her mind screamed that she was insane, but she didn't care anymore. She just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. Marik grinned at her,**

"**I see I've finally cause you to snap a little bit. That fire I see in your eyes is blazing now…All the more fun to put it out." He walked forward and gripped Rain's arms harshly, Rain stared at him, hate evident in her features.**

"**Try it. I fucking dare you. You won't break me, no matter what you do."**

**/**_**Damnit you little idiot! Run! Do you WANT him to fucking rape you, stupid woman!**_**/**

"**Bakura?!" Rain realized too late she'd spoken aloud, Marik's grin spread across his face. **

"**Your thief can't help you now. You are completely alone." **

**Rain ignored his comment, she glanced back at Ishizu as he began to drag her from the room, she jerked her head towards Anna's prone form. "Do what you can for her. I'll be ok." She didn't hear the woman's reply but knew in her heart Ishizu would take care of her friend.**

**/**_**What do I have to say to get you to listen to me? R-U-N means run for it. Time to learn a lesson in self preservation.**_**/ Rain's eyes widened slightly, and she stumbled slightly as Marik continued to drag her down the hallway. -I'm losing my mind…That must have been the last straw, now I'm imagining Bakura's voice…hmmm…maybe if I focus on him I won't have to feel Marik torturing me…-**

**/**_** That…Is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I am NOT part of your imagination. You are NOT crazy. But you ARE about to be seriously injured, among other things if you don't get away from Marik right now. If you allow him to do what he wants with you, I will personally do something that feels 100 times worse!!! I promise you that!**_**/**

_**-…**_**I guess 's voice has a point**_**… **_**I can't just let him take me away like this…I have to keep away from him so I can help Yami take the bastard out and save our friends. Kaiba's gonna be upset…I know he may not show it, but I know he cares about Anna a lot…they are always together…ugh…and for your information, mr. voice, I never intended to **_**let**_** him do **_**anything**_** to me.-**

**Rain came back to reality as Marik shoved her into what she assumed was his room on the ship, she ripped her hand from his grasp and tried to run, but he tripped her, so she slammed to the floor instead.**

"**Oof!" Rain squeaked as he grabbed her ankle, **

"**Hm…well, figured you'd try to pull something like that." Marik cackled, then began to drag her, feet first, into the bedroom. Then he grabbed one of her arms and hoisted her up into the bed. Rain screamed as he crawled on top of her. She pushed against his chest with hands that were quite literally, burning. They burnt through his shirt, and Rain could smell the flesh on his chest burning soon after, but it only seamed to spur him onward. He suddenly grabbed her wrists and held them above her head with one hand while ripping her shirt open with the other. **

"**No!!!" Rain struggled, trying to kick him, but her legs were pinned under his weight as well. -I'm trapped…I'm really trapped.- She began to struggle harder against him as that realization came crashing down. She felt his teeth graze her collar bone, felt the bulge in his pants as he rubbed against her squirming body. Suddenly she felt his hot breath in her ear,**

"**Go ahead, struggle with all you have. Fight me. It's obviously not getting you anywhere." Rain felt tears leak from her eyes as he removed the rest of her shirt, she then felt his hands grabbing at her flesh further, going lower and lower. -Oh god…No…I won't scream…I won't cry like this…not weak…I'm not weak.- She couldn't suppress the scream that fought it's way out when his teeth bit down on the tender flesh of her breast, she shuddered as his tongue lapped at the blood that leaked from the wound.**

"**Delicious." He purred, Rain felt sick, she had to get away, had to escape. Despair overwhelmed her and she screamed again, this time out of pure frustration. **

"**get off me, get off me GET OFF!!!" **

"**Heh heh heh. Mine, all mine." The button on her jeans popped, Rain's eyes widened, -Oh God please, no.-**

**/**_**Rain…focus…use the light. Focus on getting away as hard as you can…**_**/**

**-Ok…the voice…listen to the voice…- Rain tried as hard as she could to ignore what Marik was doing to her body, trying to ignore the pain of him biting her **_**again**_**, she ignored it all and thought with all her might. -I want to go…to get away…I WANT TO GO HOME!!!- Suddenly, there was blinding white light. Rain shut her eyes tightly, without warning, the weight of Marik's body on her own vanished, everything was gone and a strange whooshing sound filled her ears…no not just her ears…her **_**mind**_**. It was everywhere. Then, again, suddenly. There was nothing. No sound, just…quiet…Rain lay there for a moment before opening her eyes, what she saw shocked her. "Oh my god…I'm…Home." She whispered, looking arounf her bedroom. "I…how?"**

**/ **_**You escaped…but you went a tad further with it and switched dimensions…**_**/**

"**Oh, you're still here. I thought magic doesn't work here…"**

**/ **_**-sigh- Once magic is activated, there's not much that can make it just 'turn off'.**_**/**

"**Ok…um…how and why and who am I talking to?"**

**/ **_**God, you're really stupid wench…you know who I am. I'm sure, since you seem to know so much about everything, you should be able to put two and two together. Here. I'll give you a hint. Look at you necklace and use your brain.**_**/**

**Rain fingered her little ankh necklace, watching it sparkle in the moonlight coming through the window…-Well, it's obviously Bakura…only he'd be **_**kind**_** enough to continually insult me and save me at the same time…but…how…- Suddenly it was like a light bulb went off in her head.**

"**Oh."**

**/**_** Hah! Finally figure it out? You really think I'd leave you completely alone? I always plan ahead. Told you I'd always be watching.**_**/**

"**Well, I didn't think you'd care enough to put a shard of your soul in my necklace…sheesh…It's uh…kind of a sweet gesture in a weird way…but…why didn't you say something sooner?"**

**/ **_**I don't have to tell you everything, maybe I didn't feel like it. **_**/**

"**So…this is your world?" **

**Rain jumped and whirled, only to find herself staring at his transparent form.**

"**W-What the hell?!"**

**Suddenly, the door to the room flew open and Rain was crushed into her father's arms, Bakura glared at the man who obviously couldn't see him. Suddenly, said man held his daughter out at arms length.**

"**W-Where have you been…and what happened to your clothes?!" Rain felt relief sweep through her that the light wasn't on, because he wouldn't be able to see the bruises or marks on her. She jumped up and wrapped a blanket around her rather exposed body. -Can't believe I forgot I'm half naked.-**

**The light came on half a second later, courtesy of her mother. Rain had the two seconds before the pure insanity that ensued to notice two things. One, her mother was staring directly at the very grumpy, very see through Bakura in horror, **_**and**_** Two, Her father got a good look at her face. **

"**Shit."**

………………………………**.......................................................................................................**_**Ok, that was fun…well, I'm not so good at writing violent psychos, am I? -shrugs- Well, Hopefully I did ok. **_

_**Bakura: Well, You know what to do people! Read and review!**_

_**EgyptianSoul88: He means to say please.**_

_**Bakura: Whatever.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Explanations

_EgyptianSoul88: Thanks again to all you people that have reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their alert lists and whatnot, love you all! It's a great feeling when people actually enjoy what you write! Oh, and I do not own Yu-go-oh. Do I have to do the disclaimer every chapter? Lol…well, better safe than sorry! Oh, aaand, I got engaged yesterday! -cheers- I'm still in shock. Lol._

_Bakura: Can I see the ring?_

_EgyptianSoul88: -glare- Uh, no. You'll just steal it._

_Bakura: -Pout- Whatever._

………………………………

* * *

"Shit." Rain said, as both her parents eyes bugged out of their heads. Her father looked like he was about to explode.

"What the…Who did this to you!? I'll kill the bastard!! Unless…did you get in a fight, wha??" His eyes narrowed at her suddenly, "Where the _hell_ have you been? Were you kidnapped? How are you here, did you escape? What happened?! Rain?" He sputtered for a moment when Rain suddenly lunged and hugged him. She heard Bakura snarl

-It's my dad Bakura so re-freaking-lax, he's not going to hurt me.- He snorted in response.

"Daddy…I'll tell you everything…but can I please rest first? I've had a really rough day…" Bakura made a low growling sound, and her mother whimpered slightly. Rain's eyes travelled to her and she noticed she was still staring right at Bakura. There was no doubt…somehow, her mom could see him…

"B-but…we have to tell the cops you're home…and--" Suddenly her mom put a gentle hand on his shoulder,

"Honey…"

"You told the cops?!"

"Of course we did." Her father gave her the 'duh' look, "What would you do if your daughter just vanished into thin air?"

" Oh…um…Actually, can you not tell anyone I'm here yet?"

"Why not? And where's Anna? You both vanished at the same time, so were you together? Is she ok?" Rain cringed when he asked about Anna, Bakura glared daggers at the man who was oblivious to his presence but didn't say anything, Rain's poor mother was trying not to look at the irritable spirit, she was obviously afraid but trying not to show it. Rain figured that since most of his growls and glares were directed at her dad, her mom was more concerned about him.

"Anna is…fine…can we talk in the morning? I-I'm so tired…" Rain tried to keep the tears at bay…Anna was most definitely _not_ fine, she was in the shadow realm, all alone being tortured by god knows what and it was all _her_ fault…She couldn't tell her dad that though…It seemed she was always hurting the people that cared about her…even three thousand years ago, Anna had given her life as Adina just to come with her to this world…Had she been friends with someone else, Adina would have lived a nice long life with priest Seto. Anna wouldn't be in the shadow realm right now…

"Damn it woman, stop beating yourself up about Anna's actions. You didn't force her to pick a fight she knew she couldn't win. You even asked her not to do it!"

-How did you know…- Rain tried to 'send' her thought to him, figuring if she spoke out loud her dad would think she was nuts. She managed to swallow her tears.

"I'm not a mind reader, don't worry…but it's written all over your face, my dear. You don't mask your feelings very well." Bakura sighed, taking in her expression, before looking back at her parents, gesturing that she should do the same. Rain looked at her father, while her mother kept looking between her and Bakura in shock and confusion.

"Honey, you've been gone for a month…I'm…so happy you're home…"

"I know dad, me too…"

"Jeff? I'm going to make sure Rain gets to sleep, I'm sure this month has been hard on her, and she needs a girl to talk to so…" He looked at his wife, then nodded.

"Alright Kayla. I'll let you take over from here…and Rain?"

"Yes Dad?"

"Get some rest…you look terrible…and I won't tell the police you're home until you let me. Or at least tell me why you want it to be a secret."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

"Thanks dad…goodnight." Her father nodded then slowly left the room, closing the door behind him. Her mom sat down on the bed and looked at her daughter, timidly gesturing to the ghostly Bakura.

"Honey…um…there's a…a…?"

"A spirit?" Rain offered,

"Uh, yeah…He's very…"

"Grumpy?" At that he glared at Rain, who smiled softly, "Well, It's true…you're quite grumpy." He crossed his arms and scowled.

"Whatever woman…Try to have some respect for your savior."

Rain ignored him, looking back at her mother, who was looking rather pale. She sighed,

"You can see him."

"…Yes…mind telling me who he is? He seems…attached to you… and…"

"Really?" Rain smirked, while Bakura scowled at her mother, who flinched in response.

"Don't worry mom, he won't hurt you…he's just cranky. I don't think he likes being…_attached_ to me. Heh."

"I'm not attached to you…I merely had to attach part of myself to your silly necklace to keep an eye on you." He crossed his arms, "You won't be any use to me if--"

Rain cut him off with a look, making her mother even more confused. "Um…mom, how can you see Bakura?"

"I have a talent for seeing spirits…I suppose you could say I'm psychic, though I've never come across a spirit that could speak or um…manifest so clearly…" Her mom shrugged, eyeing Bakura. "Isn't Bakura the name of that anime villain from that show you like so much?"

"Uh…yeah…"

Her mom tilted her head slightly, examining the spirit. "He looks the same…that's…uncanny…"

Bakura rolled his eyes, then suddenly gave a mock bow. "Thief king Bakura, master of darkness at your service. How's that for a proper introduction?"

Her mother's eyes widened, "But…that's not possible…and even if you _are_ a fictional character…you're evil, right? So why are you in my house? Attached to _my_ daughter? Give me one good reason why I'm not performing an exorcism RIGHT now!" Rain stared at her mom for a moment, shocked.

"I…I don't think that would be necessary mom, besides…I doubt that would even _work _on him."

"Still, I would like to know how he came to be here…with you."

"Mom…it's a really long story…but it's true…that's where I've been this past month and that's where Anna still is…yu-gi-oh isn't just a story…it's a whole other realm, with real people, and real magic. I know I got you to read the manga…but keep in mind that Bakura isn't as bad as he's portrayed to be…at least not to me…but yeah…he's got his reasons for what he does."

"You know…if I couldn't see _him_ I'd say you're crazy…how are you going to convince your father you've been in a…well, an anime world of some sort for the past month…and if that's the case…wait…Anna's still there?"

"Yes…well…sort of…" Kayla noticed her daughter's tortured expression at the mention of her best friend.

"What happened honey?"

"Um…Anna's…well, she--" Bakura rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Her body is still in our world, but the girl's soul is currently residing in the shadow realm, likely being feasted upon by the various dark creatures that dwell there." Rain glared at Bakura as her mom gasped in horror. He shrugged, "I'm not going to water it down, you know me better than that, my dear." A couple tears leaked out of Rain's eyes and her mom glared at him, then stared back at her daughter, looking puzzled.

"I'm sorry, hun…but I have to ask…How do you two know each other? You were only gone a month."

A small blush graced Rain's feature. "It's a really….really long story…but, well…I'll just say we have a bit of a history and leave it at that for now."

"Hm…ok…And…" She suddenly gestured to her daughter's battered skin, then she gave Bakura a look. " Turn around. I need to check the extent of my daughter's injuries, and spirit or not. You're still a man, one I have no reason to trust."

Bakura smirked at her, "Hm…well, I don't feel like turning around. It's not like It's anything I haven't seen before." He crossed his arms, snickering as Rain's face turned five shades of red in an instant.

"B-Bakura!" She stared at him, gaping at how he was acting more like a teenager than an ancient spirit, while her mother gave her a questioning look.

"What kind of _history_ exactly, did you two have?"

"Uh…well, see…I had this past life and, I'm the pharaohs sister who also kind of ended up kind of getting kidnapped and…uh…"

"Oh for the love of Ra, we just had sex. No need to be shy, dear. It _is_ human nature…"

Rain jumped up, horrified and wishing she could throttle the spirit. "Gah! That was three thousand years ago! Another lifetime entirely!!!! You make it sound like I was some sort of ancient Egyptian slut!!! We didn't _just_ have sex you big jerk wad!" She clenched her fists, holding the blanket tightly around her self consciously as Bakura just shrugged in response to her small loss of temper.

" You look the same, and you were never a 'slut' as you call it…but I figure having sex in your past life wouldn't be a big deal." He gave a predatory grin that made her want to shiver, "I would have made you mine all over again if it wasn't for the pharoah and that brat always interfering at the most inopportune times." He growled, making Rain flush and her mom glare at them both. Rain pointed at him angrily.

"Y-you are such a freaking stupid ASS!!! You're so lucky you aren't solid right now!!! I'm so mad I could kill you! Jeez, are all ancient Egyptians so damn obsessed with…ugh! I'm bruised, battered, feel and look like shit and you're talking about sex in front of my mother right after Marik tried to--"

Bakura cut her off, placing his invisible finger to her lips and completely ignoring her mom, who was currently giving him a rather murderous look and, likely trying to make sense of the partial story Rain had given her.

" Might I ask how pointing out the things you don't have the guts to say makes me stupid? What exactly makes you think I'm stupid?"

" There are a lot of reasons you're stupid. I don't feeling like listing them right now as that would take all bloody night." Rain's eyes went wide at his expression…it was the you-pissed-me-off expression he seemed to reserve for people like Yami.

"Rain. You can only lose your temper so many times with me, before I stop tolerating it. You're the one that's lucky I'm not solid, because you know what happens if you decide to starting yelling and insulting me. I suggest you stop trying to piss me off. I'm not going to warn you again. You know I'm not stupid, I've never made a stupid decision."

" Yes you have…when you chose to try to kill my brother right in front of me, that was one hell of a stupid decision when you could have just forgiven him, moved on and had a family."

He glared at her viciously, Kayla kept looking back and forth at the two who seemed to have forgotten her existence. Rain had obviously hit a sore spot with that last comment. Her mother was starting to wonder if this spirit could actually cause her physical harm.

"We are NOT talking about that. Ever. I still plan on defeating him, and if you aren't with me this time around--"

"Is revenge all you care about? Did you learn nothing last time?! I may not have quite every memory back, but I remember enough that I won't stand by and let you and the pharoah duke it out this time! I will get in your way, and I will somehow stop this madness of yours if it kills me. I'm not pregnant this time around, so I _will_ throw myself in between you if that's what it takes." Rain huffed, Bakura looked a little stunned.

"You would have done that before if you hadn't been with child?" Rain shrugged in response.

"Um…Excuse me, sorry to interrupt you two, but Rain, darling. Would you care to explain this whole pregnancy thing? You've never been pregnant."

"Gods woman, you certainly are daft. Rain already told you that she had a past life, any intelligent person would be able to put two and two together at this point."

Kayla shot the spirit a withering look, "You sir, should really watch your mouth because I _can_ have a priest send you straight to hell. I was talking to my daughter, not you. So why don't you go do whatever spirits do, or just go away. That would work too."

"M-mom!" Rain stared in shock for a moment, unable to comprehend that her mother, even knowing at least the basics about who and what Bakura was, had just blatantly told him off.

"Ok young lady, ignore him and tell me, or at least giving me a decent overview of this whole pregnancy past life business…how could you have a past life there when you're from here?"

"Can't I tell you in the morning mom, I'm really tired and I need a good long shower…"

Her mom blinked, then jumped up, grabbing her daughter's arms and hauling her up too making Rain wince slightly. "Oh honey, I forgot. I wanted to check you over, you're bleeding sweetie."

"I am?!" Rain looked down, and noticed there was a small amount of blood seeping through the sheet she still had wrapped around her body in a couple places on her torso. "…Bastard did a number on me…" She grumbled, shuddering slightly. Kayla wrapped her arms around her daughter and led her to the bathroom, after she closed the door, and Bakura finally vanished (though that really didn't mean much), she gently instructed Rain to remove the sheet. Rain did so and sighed at her mother's look of horror. She stepping in front of the mirror to survey the damage and sighed again, a small tear made it's way down her cheek as she touched the bruises that trailed along her ribs, the ones on her wrists were quite literally handprints and would be hard to hide, not only was she bruised but there were quite a few cuts she didn't remember receiving and those two bloody bite marks…who knew someone could cause so much damage with human teeth, it look as though he'd smeared her blood onto her skin purposely, it was, to put it mildly, disgusting. She started shaking and her mom began to fill the tub with warm water, grabbing a cloth and some bandages from the cupboards.

"Oh god Rain, who exactly did this to you? You don't have to tell me but…I just don't know how someone could be so…"

"Barbaric? Violent? Sadistic?" Rain offered as she stepped in the tub after stripping down to her underwear, not that there had been much left on to remove.

"Yes…" Kayla began dabbing at Rain's cuts with the wet cloth, gently washing the blood away.

"You know…I can clean up myself…you don't have to help me mom."

"I'm not going to leave you alone."

Rain was silent for a moment, she realised she was still shaking. "It was Marik mom…or, well, you know that blonde guy, how he's got a really mean and psychotic dark side?"

"I think I remember that character…in that manga of yours, Malik's dark side is the one with the extremely wild hair right? Well…more wild that the other characters anyway…"

"Yes…that's him…his name is Marik…and he's really another spirit, in the past, he was Bakura's right hand man. I don't remember much, but he became the leader of the thieves when Bakura was gone, and decided that I belonged to him along with Bakura's title. He'd been obsessed with me before that anyway, I think…but yeah, he kidnapped me…but from what I've learned, I got away…but he inadvertently caused my death in that life." Rain sighed. "So, anyway…this guy came back with an obsession that's been stewing for three thousand years, along with a good dose of insanity and extremely violent tendencies. I was really hoping he wouldn't remember me but as you can see…Oh god mom, If it wasn't for Bakura shouting in my head I would have never gotten away, I felt so helpless…" Tears leaked from Rain's haunted eyes as she remembered how truly close he'd been to…to _that_. Kayla wanted to cry herself, her poor daughter had been through things no girl should have to deal with.

"Oh honey…at least it's over…"

"That's the thing mom…it's not over…not even close. I have to go back, I--"

"What? Why?"

Rain gave her mom a look, "Um…I have to get Anna out of the shadow realm for one, and my destiny is _there_. I have something I have to do. If I don't succeed…well, bad things will happen to the person I love most."

"…You're talking about Bakura aren't you. I know how things go without you as well as you do. You want to somehow stop--"

Rain put up a hand, but nodded. Kayla knew her daughter didn't want Bakura to overhear what she'd been about to say. "Yes. There is more to this story, it would take a very long time to explain it completely but I can tell you that I am _not_ a normal person at all. I have well, powers. The power of light to be exact, and Bakura has power over darkness. We will always be drawn to each other…I don't know that much about it, but Ishizu thinks that we are, when combined, a power called 'the power of balance'. Not sure what it all means yet, but I do know that I have to stay with him…I have to at least _try_ to save him. I don't even know if I can survive if he's gone completely, I mean…if we are two halves to a whole, well…without darkness, there can be no light and without light, there can be no darkness…or something like that."

Kayla shook her head, "Ok…I'm not going to say I really understand much of what you're talking about. But I know that this is something you must do. I can tell there is no stopping you either but…well, when you go back…will we see you again? Will you come home when it's all over?"

"Well…to be honest, I don't know. But…if the power of light brought me home this time, if I can learn to control it…I should be able to visit eventually…but I don't think I'll be able to stay in this realm. I don't belong here. My soul belongs to the other realm, I've been away for a few thousand years and deep inside I know I truly need to go back. I promise I'll try to visit though…and I'm sure we can find a way to communicate."

Kayla sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Be glad you have a very understanding mother…I don't even know how you'll convince your father of all this. I love you, and as long as you're ok I'm happy…I'll miss you, and worry my brain off, but it'll be ok."

Rain smiled, throwing on a nightgown. "Don't worry about dad. I'll just show him what I can do."

Her mother raised a brow, "And what exactly _can_ you do?"

"Heh…well, I think I have just enough power left in me to maybe show you."

As Rain walked back into her room, with her mom right behind her Bakura materialized in front of her…well, sort of…he was still see through. Rain jumped slightly.

"You're looking better, but you still look like shit." He stated plainly, Rain just shrugged, trying not to let the 'you look like shit' comment bother her. She pretended he hadn't said it.

"Yeah. I feel a little better. I was just going to show my mom what I can do."

He frowned at that, "Uh, no. You're not."

"Says who?"

"Me, obviously." He looked past her to her irritated mother. A scowl on his face, "Look, she's used up nearly all of her energy fighting off Marik, not only that, but she used the power of light to switch realms, which in itself would be enormously taxing. Rain is extremely close to causing herself physical harm if she tries to use magic tonight. We'll still be here in the morning, and she is beyond needing rest. Showing her powers to you can wait, don't you think?"

Kayla stared at the spirit for a moment, before nodding slightly. Her respect for him raised slightly, he may have been well, _extremely_ rough around the edges, but he did care for her daughter's wellbeing. No matter how rude or crass he could be, that was at least one redeeming quality. "You're right."

"Of course I am!"

" Don't worry, I won't be saying anything else to inflate that ego any more." The older woman (sort of) rolled her eyes. Rain looked back and forth, before letting her breath out in a little huff.

"Do I even get a say in what I do?" She glared at Bakura petulantly. "How do you know if I'm ok to work a little magic?"

"Rain. No, this time, you have no say. Oh, and I can _sense_ how weary you are, even if you're too stubborn to care…not only that, but I can see it written all over your face. You need sleep." He sighed, smirking at the look on her face.

"I-I don't want to go to sleep."

"Why not Rain? You're safe here honey, so go to bed."

"I--" Bakura cut her off,

"Rain, I know you don't want the nightmares to come, but you need rest. You can handle them, just remember, even if you see more memories, that nothing is happening to you right now. No one is hurting you."

"But…what if I dream about what happened with him in the beginning…what if I remember…"

Her mother glanced at Bakura, then Rain. "I'm going to bed…I'll see you in the morning, and…if you have a bad dream, I'm right in the next room sweetie…you'll be ok." She gave Bakura a look before exiting the room. "And you…no funny business, I know you aren't exactly solid but still…" He rolled his eyes in response, then after she left the room he turned his gaze back to Rain,

"Your mother is very…well, far more accepting of the situation than most people would be."

"Uh…yeah…that was a little bit of a surprise. My dad though…he'll be a different story. He's not super accepting of bizarre things. You're being very…um…nice and out of character. Mind telling me why?"

He huffed, sneering. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right."

"Go to sleep woman. I don't need you fainting on me."

"I'm not going to sleep, I won't."

"You do know I can put you to sleep."

"pfft, you don't have your body or the sennen ring so _do_ tell me how you'd manage that."

"I'm not exactly powerless, just in a weakened state. Doesn't mean I've got nothing."

" Right."

" Just go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

"You know, if it was anyone other than me, that thought wouldn't be exactly comforting."

He rolled his eyes, sitting down at the side of the bed as Rain got under the covers.

" Too bad I'm transparent."

"Huh? Why?" Despite what Rain wanted, she could feel sleep beginning to come upon her. Bakura gave her a wolfish grin.

"I just think it would be nice if I could join you. Looks cozy." Rain groaned at that,

"Perv." She grumbled, but she was smiling. "Though I can say I wouldn't mind if I could just be held for a little."

"I'll keep that in mind if I can manage to materialize into something solid…or when I get the rest of me out of the shadow realm. Whichever comes first." He spoke with that trademark smirk that usually irritated the heck out of Rain, this time though, she liked it…it was something uniquely _him_. She never realized he could be a bit of a pervert well, _ever_…but he was a guy, ancient revenge obsessed spirit or not.

"I'll hold you to that." Rain muttered, as her eyelids tried to flutter closed.

"Sleep." He whispered. She felt a strange tingle as his semi visible lips brushed over her own, she finally allowed her eyes to close fully.

"Love you 'Kura. Even if you don't believe me." She spoke so softly he almost missed it.

He sighed.

"I know…" He chose not to chastise her for calling him Kura. As long as no one else heard, he didn't really care anyway. -Damn, I'm getting soft- He griped internally. -Damn woman…Part of him was glad that he'd finally learned what had happened to her after he was gone, 3000 years ago…but at the same time, with the knowledge came more feelings, feelings that were far too much of a distraction. No matter how he felt towards Rain, he would not let her get in the way of his plans, no. That couldn't happen…he'd waited far to long for her to come back and ruin everything. He knew what she wanted to do, she didn't have to say it for him to figure it out…he eyed her sleeping form, afraid for her. Afraid he'd have to hurt her, and badly, to accomplish his goals. Ra help her if she threw herself in the fray at the final moments, because she would more than likely die at his hands. He knew his own temper well enough that, if angry enough, he wouldn't care. He clenched his fists, hating the feelings washing over him. -Damnable woman…I fear nothing…- With that, he faded to rest within her necklace for the night, angry with himself for allowing his feeling to surface…angry at Rain for being the object of his inner turmoil.

* * *

Rain woke up with a scream on her lips, gripped with terror, "Oh god…" She shuddered, realizing she'd merely been dreaming about yesterdays events. Tears fell as she sat up and lay her head against her knees.

"Rain….." Rain looked up to find Bakura's see through form kneeling in front of her, for once worry was evident on his face, if she wasn't so traumatized at that moment she would have been shocked. Since when did the great thief king _worry_?

"I…It was horrible…I…I hate feeling so…so helpless…trapped…" She could feel how much she was shaking, Bakura reached out to touch her shoulder but when his hand couldn't make any real contact he groaned angrily.

"Damnit. I hate that I can't do anything for you. When I can be solid again, I swear you'll be the first thing I touch. I hate this barrier…makes me feel useless."

Rain smirked slightly through her tears, "You being here helps…never thought you'd go all mushy on me Bakura. I'm kind of shocked…and don't worry, I know…It's a one time thing, right?"

He rolled his eyes, giving her the usual glare, "I'm not being mushy. I'm just…well, your fear gets a little overpowering and it annoys me. So don't be scared anymore. You're fine."

"_Riight._" Rain couldn't help but smile, his excuse was probably the silliest she'd ever heard, but it was the closest he'd get to saying he cared for her wellbeing and she appreciated it. Her fear was waning though, "I know you'll find this mushy…but well, I won't be afraid as long as you're with me…unless you gave me a reason to be…" She blushed slightly, he snorted.

"Unless I give you a reason? You mean if I lose my temper? Are you afraid of me?"

"Um…well, you _do_ have one hell of a temper…not to mention the whole darkness thing…some have likened you to the devil himself you know."

"Hm…I've learned a little about this _devil_…who has said that anyway?"

Rain blushed again, "Well…I did for one…before I knew you. Cuz…well, you're very frightening at times, especially when you're angry…or sending people to the shadow realm. I've always seen you as a very dark character, I didn't know why you were so evil until far later."

"Have I _frightened_ you since we met?" He seemed curious at this point. Rain gave him a 'duh' look.

" Bakura, you've scared the living shit out of me…you've terrified me. I must say you have no idea how confused I was when we met and you didn't just get rid of me. Plus, when I saw you I felt…" She turned a darker red, "um…well, nothing important…"

He arched a brow, but let that one go…"Are you still scared?"

"Of you? Sometimes…when you duel you get kind of creepy…and you _have_ hurt me a couple times. I mean, one can only be grabbed, thrown against hard objects and whatnot so many times before they get a few bruises. I'm definitely not indestructible." Rain touched her bruised wrist. "But Marik scares the hell out of me far more than you, because I know that if he doesn't get his way he'd kill me. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure being killed would be a nice thing to have happen after the…things he wants to do beforehand. Don't get me wrong, if you put your mind to it I'm sure you could be a million times scarier than him, but I trust you enough that I doubt you'd turn on me like that. Yeah, sometimes you get angry with me, or annoyed but you're smart enough to catch it before you do anything serious."

He chuckled darkly, "Rain, don't be foolish. I don't want you to ever think I _wouldn't_ harm you…as you know, if I lose it and you get in the way, I could quite possibly kill you…or worse. Don't forget that."

"Oooookay… That sure is comforting to hear…I'll put it this way then, Marik is at the top of my scary enemies list, he acts before he thinks. He's all rage and obsession. You're better than him, you actually think things through…hell, you are very…I don't know, methodical and you think _way_ ahead. For example, I know you've been plotting away in the background for a couple _years_ while the others take out everyone else bent on world domination, you just watch and wait until the opportune moment to strike." Rain sighed, " But back to the point, yes. You're scary. You obviously _thrive_ on being scary, but you _aren't_ my enemy. Marik _is_ my enemy. Hell, he's _everyone's_ enemy. That's why I'm not afraid of you, I have other things to worry about."

They both sat in silence for a few moments, then Rain spoke up,

"Thankyou."

"What in Ra's name are you thanking me for?"

"For being here…and saving me…even if it was at the last minute."

He grunted in response. "Just don't expect me to always come to the rescue when you're in trouble. I'm no hero."

"I know." Rain looked at her bedside clock. It was four am. "I suppose I should go back to sleep for a few more hours…"

Bakura just shrugged, he looked as though he was consumed in thought. Rain closed her eyes and drifted off, no more nightmares came to her, though a memory did…

* * *

The sun was just starting to set in the sky when Rayana left Bakura's tent to take a small walk, she still had the bandage on her shoulder and torso but her wound was nearly healed and she'd been cooped up in that tent for long enough! She'd begged to go for a walk numerous times in the last week but the thief king was set in his ways and wouldn't even let her take a peak outside. Why did he care so much anyway? She was a captive in his camp yet he'd let her sleep in his own tent as she recuperated from that damn arrow. It was ironic that the very men sent to save her had nearly killed her and her captor was the one to nurse her back to health. She sighed, ignoring the stares from the thief king's men.

"M-Miss, you really should go back to the master's tent…" Rayana turned her gaze to the young man who had spoken, he couldn't have been much older than fifteen, just a kid to be honest. She smiled at him,

"Well, your master can--"

"I can what?" Both the boy and Rayana jumped slightly, how the hell could such a large man sneak up on her like that?! The boy bolted, Bakura watched with slight amusement before turning his gaze back to Rayana. "Well? What were you going to say?"

"Um…that you could deal with me going for a walk once because I was going crazy being stuck in a tent for so long…do you know how hot it gets in there during the day?"

He smirked, grabbing her arm. "Yes…but you know better than to disobey me princess. I told you to stay. Are you really so keen on getting yourself hurt again? Arrows aren't the only danger out here."

Rayana tried to rip out of his grip but it only tightened. "But I--"

"Hm…well, I'll save your punishment for later…If you really are so desperate for a walk, I will walk _with_ you."

Rayana blanched, "P-punishment?"

"Hm…" He grinned at her roguishly. Taking her face in hand, "Yes. Punishment, did you think you could disobey a direct order from me and get off scot free? If one of my men did something like that, they would be killed on the spot…though don't worry. I won't kill you, that wouldn't be any fun."

"F-fun?" They were walking now, he laughed at her frightened tone.

"Yep. There are much better things I could do with you as _punishment_."

"L-like what?"

"Well, I could torture you, lock you up again, or have you beaten…or you could agree to be my slave."

"W-What? Slave? What exactly would I do?"

He stopped abruptly, turning to face her with a strange look in his eye. "Well, you would keep things tidy for one, and you would…" He paused, a grin forming on his lips, "You would warm my bed."

"I…um…wha?" Rayana didn't even know how to respond to _that_, she felt a blush creep across her face at what he was saying. "Y-you're insane."

"Since when is wanting a woman I find attractive insane?"

"I-I'm a princess! Not only that, but I'm second in line to the throne and you want to reduce me to a common bed slave?"

"Well…it _is_ supposed to be a punishment. I'm letting you choose what is done to you." He thought for a moment, "Did you just say what I thought? That you are _second_ in line for the throne? Don't you have to be married to take the throne?"

"Um…" Rayana sighed -shit…forgot he wasn't supposed to know that…- "Well, no…my father wrote in his will…"

"So if I kill your brother…"

"Yeah…I'll be pharaoh."

He stared at her for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Hm…well, that should be interesting. I thought your cousin would get the throne."

"I'm a direct heir…he's son of father's brother. So I come before him."

"Oh…So I should be trying to kill you."

"…"

He laughed, "Don't worry, as I said. I won't kill you. Now…what would you like your punishment to be?"

Rayana glared at him, "Even if I agree to be your slave…don't think it will be easy to bed me."

"I always like a challenge." The landscape faded at that.

* * *

Rain woke um with a blush still present on her face, much to her dismay, Bakura was looking at her with a smirk.

"Good dream?"

"Um…no, just a memory. And you're a jerk."

He raised a brow, "And what exactly did you remember that would make you call me a jerk?"

"ugh…nothing…"

"Hmmm…well, as you're blushing, must have been something _interesting_."

"Oh shut up." Rain's face grew more red.

"Heh…Well, I suppose it doesn't matter." He grinned,

Rain sighed, "_What_?"

"You entertain me to no end."

Rain groaned, "Ugh…you never change."

"Well, why would I want to change?"

Rain rolled her eyes and got out of bed, looking at the clock, it was about 8:30am. She figured her parents were awake due to the noises coming from the kitchen. She ambled into the kitchen to find her mom munching on cereal at the counter while her dad sat at the table drinking coffee.

"Good morning Rain." He spoke, after a sip. "There's coffee ready." Rain didn't have to be told twice, she all but raced to the coffee maker and got herself a cup, making Bakura laugh

"Well, you'd want coffee too if you were in my position." Rain grumbled, forgetting her dad couldn't see the tomb robber. She flushed slightly, looking at her dad. "I…I guess you'd like to know what's been going on. Just…remember I have proof to back up my story, ok?"

"Well, why wouldn't I believe you?"

" Um…well, would you believe I went through a portal in Anna's wall that took us both to another realm, which is also a popular anime called yugioh, which is actually real, then found out I'm supposed to be there, I'm a villain magnet because I have some wild powers and my soul mate is an ancient Egyptian tomb robber who wants to kill my brother from the lifetime in which we originally met." Her dad merely stared at her for a moment, then surprisingly, he smiled.

"Ok. I do admit it sounds…well, more than a little far fetched. But I'll give you a chance to show me your proof before I call a psychiatrist."

"Well, I can control and create the elements."

"Ok. Show me then."

Rain glanced at her mother, who looked on with interest, before focusing on her fire, she was still weakened, but had enough that she could do some show and tell. At her father's gasp she opened her eyes to see the flame, only a few inches high, dancing on her palm.

"Fire." Then she focused again, making wind swirl around the room gently. "Wind." Then she a finger balancing a droplet of water before flicking it at her mom, "Water." She stopped…"I'm not going to do earth, cause I don't want to make a mess…I'm sure you get the point though. My main power is the power of light, but I was only able to use that once…when I was in…distress."

"That's…convincing proof that you have powers…but what of this anime world you speak of?"

"Um…"

"Rain, I have an idea." Rain looked to Bakura in surprise. He continued, "I think I've found a way to become solid…at least for a while. I'll need to borrow a small amount of your magical energy though."

"You can do that?"

Rain's dad at this point was staring at his daughter, "Uh, Rain? Who the hell are you talking to?" Rain's mom burst out laughing, making him frown.

"Bakura ignored them, "Yes. I believe I can. You won't feel much, just a slight pull. Oh, and focus please, it helps." Rain nodded, doing as he instructed. She closed her eyes, focusing on sending him what he needed. She felt a small pinch, then after a few moments, amid a few gasps from her parents she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Ok, you can stop now. It worked." Her eyes shot open to meet his crimson tinged ones right in front of her. She gasped, then to his shock, she clobbered him, nearly knocking him over.

"I-I can touch you!"

"Uh…yeah…now, can you kindly remove yourself from me?" She grumbled, but complied,

"Fine…"

"As much as I love the contact, we aren't alone remember?"

Rain blushed, then turned to her parents. Both of which were gawking.

"Well, um…Here's my proof dad. Meet Bakura, thief king." Rain's mother came up and, to Rain's embarrassment, poked the tomb robber in the shoulder.

"Hm…I've never seen a spirit become solid like that before."

"To be honest mom, neither have I…but um…please don't poke him, ok?"

"Yes. _Do_ remember who I am."

"And who exactly are you, young man?" Rain's dad suddenly spoke, some of the shock wearing off. He'd stood up and was now eyeing Bakura suspiciously. Rain groaned. Bakura smirked,

" Who are you calling young? Have you any idea how old I am?"

"Do tell. You couldn't be older than twenty."

Bakura glared, Rain shook her head, -he's obviously forgotten he's a spirit.-

"I am, if you include my life, over three thousand years old. I am the greatest thief that has ever been, or ever will be and by far one of your betters." Rain had to stop a laugh at how he puffed himself up. Her father looked shaken by the look he was receiving. Rain rolled her eyes, grabbing Bakura's arm.

"Um. Bakura, please don't traumatize my dad." Bakura looked at her, then shrugged.

"Whatever." Well, that was better than the usual shut the hell up thing she got most of the time. Her dad was, meanwhile putting two and two together.

"Rain."

"Uh, yes dad?"

He rubbed his forhead, "please tell me this man isn't the tomb robber you were talking about."

"Uh…well…"

He looked about ready to bang his head into a wall as Bakura randomly wrapped an arm around Rain's shoulders. Rain and her mom both sighed.

"Well, I won't say anything about that…so, where is Anna? What should I tell her mom?"

Rain shivered at the prospect. "She's one of the reasons I have to go back…I have to get her back."

"What do you mean…you said she was ok."

"Dad…her body is ok…her soul is in the shadow realm. A place similar to hell but cold and dark. I have to save her."

Her father looked shocked, "Honey…what happened?"

Rain sighed, then relayed most of the recent events to her father, who in turn, glared at Bakura.

"And where the hell were you while all this was happening?!" Bakura glared back at the man, making him take a step back.

"He's the only reason I was able to get away. He's only a small piece of himself. A shard of his soul, the rest is currently residing in the shadow realm, when Marik sent him after a duel. So lay off dad." Rain turned to Bakura, "And I know you're pissed that I'm coming to your defense but I don't feel like watching you fight with my father, so deal."

The tomb robber glared at her, but she stood her ground. "You're pissing me off." He growled,

"Your point is?" Rain hissed in response. Noting both her parents looked nervous.

"Rain, don't try to provoke me, I won't hesitate, even in front of your parents."

"Hesitate to do what?"

"You know what." Rain noted that she was also entering danger zone, she finally backed off, moving to get to the other side of the kitchen but he grabbed her wrist and she tried not to wince at his grip on her already bruised flesh. Her parents didn't really notice her discomfort. -Ugh…well, maybe it's better they don't notice, god knows what would happen if they knew he'd hurt me after everything I just went through…- "Stay with me."

"If you two are quite finished…?" Rain's Mom walked closer, as Rain looked at her.

"Um…sorry mom…we uh…are both stressed."

"Hm…well, I don't want to ask, but when and how are you going to return to that other world?" Rain's father sputtered slightly, choking on his coffee.

"She…Who said she'd going back?"

"Be reasonable Jeff. She's got things that need to be done, unless you want to tell Anna's mother what's happened to her?"

"B-But how the hell…I mean, just look at Rain. She's not fit to be saving anybody right now! Maybe we can--"

"Get the police to help? Think. Please, tell me how you would explain the situation…besides that, it's not like we can give directions to another realm entirely. We'd be locked up, considered insane. Rain is old enough to take care of herself, I already came to terms with the fact that she must go back, and you have to as well."

Bakura cleared his throat, clearly irritated. " We go back as soon as possible." He stated, Rain stared at him.

"I don't think the question was directed at you, thief." Then she turned back to her parents, "He is right though, Anna's soul may not be in her body right now, but god knows what's going on over there. Marik is very likely pissed right off that I vanished like that, and he may take it out on her as he isn't what I'd call stable. Though…as to how I'm going to get back…I have no idea."

Bakura snorted, "We go back the same way we got here, idiot."

"Are you sure he's your soul mate?" Kayla asked, giving Bakura a dirty look. "He's not exactly very nice to you."

Rain gave a small smile, "Well, he's definitely my soul mate…apparently the powers that be say so, though I never said either of us had to like it. I love him, and am content with the fact that he hasn't tried to murder me or steal my soul. He's a villain, remember?"

"But you said he's not so bad."

"Heh, as I said, he hasn't really _done_ any real harm to me, and he's saved me on the rare occasion. So I don't think he's so bad…not to mention we're technically dating I guess…so he doesn't hate me which I would say is a positive sign."

"Excuse me." Both women turned to the tomb robber, who was well, kind of twitching.

"Um, yes?"

"Can you _please_ stop talking about me as though I am not even here. Or kindly shut up, whichever works."

Both Rain and her mother did the intelligent thing, and both shut their mouths. One could only push an angry ancient Egyptian spirit bent on revenge so far.

"Great, so I have to send my daughter back with one evil psycho to face _another_ even worse evil psycho so that she can save her best friend's soul and pray that neither psycho does anything to her."

"Well…I also have to do a few other things…"

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Um…well, I'm not sure yet. I'm learning as I go along." Rain sighed at her father's rather dejected look. "Dad…I'll come back and see you guys soon, ok? But I have to go. Please understand. I love you both, but as much as I hate saying this, I have a meeting with destiny that I can't miss. As stupid as it sounds."

Rain's mother, shooting another glare at Bakura, came over and hugged her daughter.

"Rain, I accept it, and I'll wait as long as it takes to see you again. I'll pray for your safety sweet heart. And Bakura? I don't honestly like you as a person, but I respect that on some level you _do_ care for my daughter. _Try_ to protect her."

Bakura just arched a brow in response, leaning against the cupboard. "Hmph."

Rain rolled her eyes, letting her father hug her too.

"Be careful." Was all he said, She then stepped towards Bakura, "So, how do I do this?"

"Well, I'll have to lose solid form as I _am_ using your energy at the moment. Then you'll have to concentrate as hard as you can…or I can terrify you to the point of desperation. Up to you."

Rain shifted uncomfortably at the look in his eye, "Well, obviously I'll just use concentration. I don't even want to know how you plan on scaring the hell out of me." She sighed, shutting her eyes.

"Wait a moment."

"What now?"

"Before I lose form…" Bakura wrapped her in his arms and kissed her swiftly before she could react.

"Mmff!" Rain's parents eyes went wide as saucers, and Rain was blushing deeply when he released her. She gave him a look. "C-Couldn't that wait?!"

"hm…no." And with that, he was gone. Back into her necklace. Leaving Rain to face her parents.

"U…Um…sorry about that. He's a little…uh…"

"Huh…"

"Well…he's definitely not shy, is he…"

* * *

Sorry to cut it off there, I know this chapter isn't nearly as good as the others, but I got stumped a number of times writing this chapter so I apologize it anything drags on. I'll be faster putting up new chappies now that I've gotten over my writers block. And they'll be better!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: unexpected comfort.

_EgyptianSoul.88: Ello folks! I thank you all again for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I honestly thought it wasn't that great but you proved me wrong! _^^

_Bakura: -stare- You seem frighteningly cheerful today._

_EgyptianSoul.88: -shrug- Well, I'm pumped full of caffeine, and get to plan a wedding, what do you expect?! Now, be a good thief king and do the disclaimer._

_Bakura: Whatever…EgyptianSoul.88 doesn't own anything but Rain, Anna, and Rain's parents. She wishes she did as she would be rich, but that's all she can do. _

_EgyptianSoul.88: Alrighty then, on with the chapter!_

………………………………

* * *

After Bakura's lovely display of…well, we'll say affection, a still blushing Rain glared at the spot where he'd been a moment before going poof on her. She could hear his laughter echoing in her mind.

"You know, I sometimes wonder about him." She grumbled before giving her parents a final goodbye and closing her eyes, concentrating on getting back to the yu-gi-oh realm, back to that accursed blimp. It took a few moments of Rain thinking about Anna and the others, but soon everything went white and Rain was plopped onto the floor in the hallway right outside Bakura's room, where she unceremoniously whacked her head into the floor. It took a minute for her surroundings to stop spinning, but Rain eventually stood up and looked around warily.

-Hm…well, at least I didn't drop on top of Marik or something…-

/_ Speaking of Marik, get into the room and out of this hallway as you seem to have the bad luck to always run into the bastard. Move first, think later. It may keep you alive slightly longer._/

-slightly longer? Jerk…-

/ _What?_/

-Nothing…I don't know how Ryo can stand having you in his head all the time…I feel like a crazy person…-

/ _Pfft…I don't exactly talk to Ryo often, He is my host. Thus there is no need for conversation. I take over when need be._./

Rain entered Bakura's room, not that one could call it his anymore as he was _gone_ but meh. She then realized that she was still wearing her nightgown. Luckily, as she'd originally been staying in this room, some of her clothes were still there. "No peeking." She grumbled out loud to Bakura before quickly changing into jeans and a t-shirt. She glared at the bruises covering her arms, wishing she hadn't left her only long sleeved shirt in Yugi's room… Rain sat on the bed, sighing. "When you're in control, what happens to Ryo?" She whispered, there was no response for a moment.

/ _I put him to sleep usually…He remembers nothing while I am in control. It makes it easier for me to work, with him unable to tell the pharaoh what I've been up to._/

Rain could actually feel the mental sneer when he spoke of her brother.

"It feels weird talking to you like this…unable to see you or hear you outside of my mind."

He chuckled darkly, / _It's not something I like, but it can't be helped. I am, as you know, still very much weakened as most of me is in the shadow realm at the moment. It takes an amount of effort to project myself, making myself solid was a feat in itself. As much as I hate to admit it, without your magical strength I wouldn't have been able to do much at all. It took quite some time before I could even speak to you._/ Rain could note the bitterness in his 'voice', she sighed again, but hid her surprise over him willingly admitting any sort of weakness.

"I'm sure you'll be back soon. As long as my brother defeats Marik everyone he sent to the shadow realm should recover." He didn't answer, Rain laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. "You really should be a little nicer to him." She muttered suddenly.

/ _Who?_/

"Ryo. All this memory loss and stress you cause his body, I mean…you've even put him in the hospital once, and would have again if Kaiba didn't have medical staff on this blimp. He's a nice guy. I mean, even though you're constantly possessing him and putting him in harms way he doesn't hate you. I know you're the big bad tomb robber, but can you _try_ not to hurt the poor guy, or at least let him know when you're going to take over his body?" Rain stopped her mini lecture, she could feel Bakura's annoyance seeping into her mind.

/ _Do you have a thing for him or something? Why should I let him know when I'm going to possess him, if he has no choice in the matter why bother?_/

Rain rolled her eyes, "It is _his_ body you inhabit, I would think he would have a right to know when you want to use it."

/ _Woman, it's really not any business of yours now, is it… _/

Rain gave an exasperated sigh, "Ugh…_men_…" A thought occurred to her at that moment, "Hey, instead of sitting around here I need to actually find Anna."

/ _You're NOT going to the shadow realm._/

She gave an unladylike snort, "Oh, it's not like I can't handle it…but I wasn't talking about going there anyway oh mighty bossy one, I was talking about finding her body." She shuddered, "I just don't like saying 'Anna's body' cause it sounds depressing…"

/ _She's not dead, and Ryo's been keeping her company. Though she keeps running off, that girl is actually more stupid that you are._/

"Why does she keep running off?" Rain chose to ignore the 'stupid' remark.

/ _The girl is determined to find a way out, she won't listen to reason. You know, I would almost rather her soul got eaten already, one less thing to deal with._/

" She gets eaten and I will find a way to kill you. What's got you so cranky?"

/ _You try babysitting two mortals in the shadow realm without getting a little bit irritated, believe me, it's no picnic. I would have been out of there by now if it wasn't for them._/

" You're being surprisingly talkative. It's weird."

/ _…Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps I'll stop._/

-Sarcastic much?-

/ _Well, do you thrive on saying stupid things?_/

"Uh…" Rain chose not to reply, much to Bakura's annoyance. She stood up, stretching and went to the door, peeking out cautiously. -Looks like the coast is clear…- She then hurried out, trying to be as quiet as possible. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from somewhere ahead of her. Before she had a chance to worry, Bakura's voice chimed in her head.

/ _It's a woman, you're safe for now._/

-How the hell can you tell?!-

/ _Heheh…I'm the king of thieves…it's good to know things like this…a woman walks differently than a man, a trained ear can easily distinguish between the two._/

Rain waited as Ishizu suddenly appeared around the bend, the women both smiled at each other, then Rain hugged the Egyptian.

"Oh, I'm glad you're alright…Where did you move Anna?"

Ishizu sighed, "She is in the room with Rishid, what's happened? Last I saw…you were…"

"Being dragged away by the psycho-pervert possessing your brother? Well, I managed to use the power of light to get away at the last moment, thanks to Bakura. I somehow went home…One minute I was with Marik, the next I was in my bedroom…."

Ishizu took a moment to process the information. "…Hold on, what do you mean by thanks to Bakura? He's in the shadow realm."

"Most of him is." At Ishizu's confused expression Rain gave a small smile. "How much do you know about the power of the sennen ring?"

"…Well, not that much actually…all our records of it were relatively vague, surprisingly more-so than the other items. I know it houses the spirit known as Bakura, and that it's quite powerful but I don't know the specifics."

"Hm…well, one of the things Bakura can do with the ring is put what I'll call 'shards' of his soul in things."

"That's an intriguing ability." The tomb keeper stated blandly, "No wonder he's so hard to get rid of."

"That's…beside the point…Without my knowledge, he put a shard of his soul in my necklace at some point. I was running out of hope but suddenly he yelled at me in my head. I thought I'd gone insane but he was persistent and managed to guide me through the process of using the power to get myself out of that…situation. Don't tell the others about the necklace-soul-shard thing though…" Ishizu didn't say anything, she could see the haunted look of a victim in Rain's eyes, it was a look she'd seen before. Rain was hiding it pretty well, but if she was pushed much further without time to recuperate there would be a breakdown.

"I'll take you to Anna. I'm glad you're ok….I'm assuming you came back to this realm with the power of light as well?"

"Yeah…I'm glad I got to see my parents…at least now they know where I am…and I learned how to use the power of light. Though I can't use it often, it's quite draining."

The two of them began to walk, Rain kept looking around, as though she expected for Marik to burst upon them at any moment. Ishizu put her hand on her shoulder, making Rain glance at her.

" Don't worry, He's not on the blimp right now. I saw him storm off down the hall where the others went. Probably impatient to duel the pharaoh."

"In a hurry to lose…" Rain grumbled, but her spirits lifted slightly knowing he wasn't in the immediate vicinity at the current moment.

"So…If Bakura, at least part of him, is in your necklace, can he take over your body?"

Rain made a face, "Uh…no, thank Ra for that…He can talk to me…and on the odd occasion he can sort of materialize apparently."

"Ah…that would be awkward, wouldn't it. I'm glad it's not the case."

"Heh…yeah…it's weird enough to hear his voice in my head."

/ _Again, I'll leave you alone as you seem to find me oh so irritating…_/

-Don't take things so personally…I was really upset when you got sent to the shadow realm, so talk as much as you want.- Rain fought a small grin, she thought it was kind of cool to be able to talk to someone telepathically. He snorted in response, a strange sound to hear in one's mind.

/ _You're not going to start saying how much you miss me, are you? Because I really don't need to hear it._/

Rain ignored him, rolling her eyes. Ishizu gave her a questioning look but said nothing as they stopped in front of a door and it slid open. Upon entering Rain spotted Anna on a bed lined up next to Rishid's. She looked so peaceful, Rain had to remind herself that her best friend's soul wasn't there…that she wasn't just sleeping. She took her hand, which felt cool to the touch, her heart ached with the pain of knowing she could have prevented this. A tear made it's way down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry my friend…please stay strong…I know it sounds crazy, but _listen_ to Bakura. I know you don't like him but he'll keep you alive. We'll get you out of there soon I promise."

Meanwhile, in the shadow realm:

Anna shivered, she's been in this place for god knows how long, stuck with _Bakura_ for goodness sake. Not that she wanted to be alone…she could feel the…_things_ in the shadows, waiting and watching…occasionally brushing against her, making her jump. They had been attacked a few times by various creatures but Bakura was pretty good at killing things, needless to say he seemed to enjoy it. The shadow realm was _so_ cold, a numbing kind of cold that cut right through you.

"Sheesh…maybe Marik should have just killed me…I feel like I'm in _hell_…but cold."

"Oh stop with the whining woman…You know as well as I do that you'll be rescued eventually. I'm sure you can handle a little bit of hardship…You've had it easy since you got here anyway. Had I ignored your plight your soul would have been eaten by the beasts that reside here by now. I must say, I do regret not just leaving you be to fend for yourself." Anna squinted through the dark-purplish swirls of whatever the shadow realm was made of, just able to make out the thief king's figure in the darkness. She put her hands on her hips and glared defiantly, making him chuckle.

" What? Did you think I'm keeping you safe from the beasties out of the goodness of my heart?" He tossed back his head and laughed heartily, as though he'd made a funny joke. "You had best thank your friend, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have spared you a single thought." He paused, "Hell, I would have killed you myself just for the fun of it."

"The goodness of your heart? Of course I didn't think _that_, I didn't even know you _had_ one, being an evil spirit bent on sending the world into darkness and all."

He merely smirked, "I'm _so_ glad you have such a high opinion of me. You're just like the rest of the pharaoh's little cheerleaders. Always willing to make such assumptions, but never willing to see the whole truth." He tilted his head to the side in an almost catlike gesture, "Tell me, do you fear me?" He moved closer, she could see him fully now. Anna actually paused to think before she answered. She looked him in the eye and forced herself not to flinch at the barely harnessed cold fury she could see there. Jeez, how did Rain manage to be anywhere near this guy for prolonged periods of time? He reminded Anna of an animal that had been trapped in a cage for far too long, bloodthirsty, crazed and unpredictable.

"I-I don't fear you." Anna cursed the catch she heard in her own voice, betraying her true feelings. He took a step towards her menacingly, Anna stumbled backwards and tripped, falling hard. She sat on the ground, glaring up at him as he stood silently watching her for a moment, before he unexpectedly burst out laughing at her expense.

"Idiot." He sneered.

"I don't know _what_ she sees in you…" Anna grumbled, suppressing a shudder and trying to ignore the fear she felt. Bakura was _scary_, but him being her only protection from the shadow creatures in the shadow realm was terrifying…Especially as he obviously didn't like her at _all. _She jumped slightly when she felt a soft touch on her arm, turning to find Ryo beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief as he helped her stand. Bakura rolled his eyes, walking a small distance away. Anna figured he was done trying to freak the living shit out of her, that's what she'd decided he'd been doing anyway.

"Why don't you ask her when you get back?" Ryo's soft voice making her feel a little better.

"She wouldn't be able to tell me…the poor girl is as confused as they get. I'll never know or understand how she could love someone like him. They are as different as they come."

"Maybe the same way that you can love that damned, irritating priest." Bakura's cold voice cut through the darkness again. Anna blushed,

"I- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Heh…say what you want woman, I honestly couldn't care less about your love life…Though maybe you should keep your nose out of matters that don't concern you."

There was sudden movement on their right, a nasty bug-like creature roared, Anna yelped. "What the HELL is that?!!"

"That, my dear, is a giant insect." The tomb robber sounded so relaxed that Anna did a double take. Then the thing lunged.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

"Don't scream you idiot, you'll attract more of the damnable things!"

"Oh gross!!!" Anna dragged Ryo with her as she dodged one of the creatures massive legs. "Why does it have to be a bug of all things, dragons, zombies, monsters…anything but BUGS!!!"

"Alright, time to leave!" Bakura shouted as he summoned his own creature to take care of the monster bug. "Let's go people!" Anna didn't need to be told twice, she took Ryo's hand and ran for dear life.

Back with Rain…

"I hope the others will be back soon…" Ishizu's voice broke Rain from her thoughts, she nodded to show she was listening.

"Me too…preferably before Marik knows I'm back…He's likely not too happy that I vanished into thin air." Rain shuddered, "Ugh…bloody creep…thanks to him I'll be having nightmares for weeks to come."

"He hurt you."

"Well, yeah. I'm sure you noticed the bruises." Rain tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"I'm not just talking about that Rain…you're soul itself has been wounded. It will take some time before you to feel normal again and for that I am so very sorry…" Rain looked at the older woman, Ishizu looked very sad at that moment. Rain put an arm on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine in no time. Honestly, it'll be easier for me than you think…I can go through a lot and I won't break. That's a gift of mine."

"You're such a sweet girl you know…I should be comforting _you_, not the other way around."

Rain laughed, "I'm not _that _good…I just focus on trying to be optimistic. Even in dire circumstances, if you think of the good things it will always keep you going. For example, this whole thing with Marik…yes, I'm traumatized by it, and somewhat injured but I _got away_. That's what matters. I may feel and look like shit, but I'm still here, able to fight another day as some would say. Best not to think of what _could_ have happened. I'm more upset about the people we care for being stuck in the shadow realm than anything else."

"Hm…well, you are a good person Princess."

Rain groaned, putting a palm to her head. "_Please _don't call me that…"

Ishizu merely smiled in response.

"And I'm not a good person…I'm certain that according to some cosmic law, the good people aren't supposed to love the bad ones…and since Bakura would be considered a bad guy in most people's books, I believe any goodness I have is somewhat corrupted. I've tried as hard as I can to _hate_ him and it's just not happening."

"You can't help who you love, it's something fate decides. That has nothing to do with good or bad, and I know you don't want any harm to come to the pharaoh…or anyone for that matter. From what I gather, you're an innocent soul trapped in the middle of the hatred fuelled war that boils between your brother and the man you've had in your heart for three thousand years. You are most definitely not a bad person, and the hatred around you has never been your fault."

Rain eyed Ishizu, shaking her head in slight amazement. "Sometimes it's scary how much you seem to know, Ishizu. But I don't think it's all my fault…I just wonder how things would have turned out if I had been able to stop the fighting back then. I feel that maybe if I had done something differently--"

CRASH The door suddenly flew open with force, Rain paled slightly, but to her own surprise, kept her bearings.

"Hello Marik, so nice to see you again. Is it even possible for you to enter a room quietly?"

"R-Rain!" Ishizu seemed more than shocked at Rain's sarcasm directed to the imposing man now standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hello princess. Did you enjoy that little trick you played earlier? I didn't realize you'd already remembered how to do that. I promise not to make _that _mistake again."

"Hm. Well, guess you shouldn't just assume things, huh. I can be quite the escape artist now that I've figured it all out." Rain smirked, shoving any fear she felt at his presence to the back of her mind. She heard Bakura growl in her head as Marik pushed himself off the doorframe and waltzed over to stand a few feet in front of her.

" I really should punish you for that, you know. Maybe teach you some _obedience_." He spoke with a sneer, Rain glared at him.

"You'll find nothing you do will _ever_ make me be subservient to _you_. Hell, I barely even listen to Bakura, and I actually _care_ about him."

"Well, your precious _Bakura_ is _gone_."

"You think so?"

He laughed, " As I'm the one that personally sent his entire being, host and all, to the shadow realm, I _know_ so."

Rain smiled, making Marik frown in confusion.

"For someone who was once his second in command, I'm shocked that you would forget how hard he is to get rid of. That the likes of _you_ could actually even _think_ to truly defeat him."

"I see you've become delusional." Marik said dryly. "Considering I _did_ defeat him in a shadow duel. He's gone. Quite literally, and I am growing weary of this mindless chatter. You're still somewhat weakened from our previous encounter, so just come quietly to save yourself any pointless self-inflicted agony."

Rain suppressed a shudder at the predatory expression he was yet again eyeing her with. -Hey Bakura.-

/_ What._/

-Well…um, do you think you could borrow some of my power and make yourself solid again, like you did at my parent's house?-

/ _…I suppose…but you'll owe me if I help you out of this._/

-But you'd be using my power to do it.-

/ _It's still hard for me to do…and I don't help people for free, or ever really…unless I have something to gain._/

-Ugh…whatever. I need you. I'll try to pay you back later. If I follow Marik, I'm pretty sure I'll get to see how pissed off he really is as he's acting freakishly calm right now. I'd rather not have to go through more of this crap.-

/ _Hmph…good enough._/

Rain closed her eyes and focused on transferring some of her power to Bakura, feeling the odd pinch as it began working and ignoring when Marik moved to grab her wrist, only stopping when she heard Bakura's icy voice.

" I don't like others touching what's mine." Rain opened her eyes to find Bakura standing slightly to the side, a couple feet away. She would have laughed at the strange expression on Marik's face and the open shock on Ishizu's if she hadn't been afraid for her life. Marik's grip on her wrist went slack so she pulled her hand to her chest and crossed her arms, at least he hadn't yanked her out of her seat.

"Bakura. What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" The pale man shrugged in response.

"As I said, you hadn't seen the last of me, I'm a man of my word you know."

"I sent you to the shadow realm, how exactly are you here right now?"

Bakura chuckled. "You really think I'm going to tell you?"

Marik's face warped in his fury, Rain cringed away from him as he turned back to try to grab her again. "You're mine sweetheart, this changes _nothing_." Rain made a strangled sound as he grabbed her wrist _again_ and yanked her towards the door.

"I don't THINK so Marik!" Bakura jumped towards her and gripped her other wrist, both pulled with all their might. Which was a lot, if you hadn't guessed. Rain yelped in pain, giving Ishizu a pleading look.

"Uh…help would be great right about now!" The older woman appeared at a loss for what to do. She'd never had to deal with a human tug-of-war like this….though not that many people have…especially with two of the participants being rather insane. Rain felt as though both her arms were being ripped _off_, plus both her wrists were already bruised, she was hoping one of them would let go soon or she was probably going to start screaming. Neither was winning so far…her poor body was screaming from all the abuse it had taken in the last few days. Part of her felt like laughing hysterically, as she realized that the two craziest evil villains from any show she'd ever watched were currently having a bizarre game of tug-of -war with her body, pretty much fighting over her. She wondered briefly if maybe this really was all in her head and she was locked up in a psych ward somewhere in reality.

"Hm…The others are on their way back." Ishizu's voice cut through Rain's mental wanderings amid the intense pain of practically being yanked in half.

"How do you know?" Marik snapped at her, the woman gave him a cold look. "There is a window right there." She pointed behind the couch, "Also…I could sense it. I may not have the sennen tauk anymore but I still see the occasional thing."

Rain couldn't help but make a noise between a yelp and a scream when Marik's grip on her wrist tightened and he gave a strong yank, catching Bakura by surprise, making him stumble forward slightly. He glared, then did the same thing but Marik anticipated this and did something unexpected. He _let go_ of Rain's hand. Which in turn sent Rain flying into Bakura, who fell into Ishizu, who stumbled back and fell on the couch. Bakura ended up on the floor with Rain in his lap. Marik chuckled evilly.

"I suppose you win for now thief, I have a pharaoh to kill, and…" Marik looked at Rain, " You'll just distract me from my plans. But don't worry, when it's all over I'll be coming back for you." With that, he grinned at Ishizu, and left the room, cloak billowing behind him. Rain shivered violently, then found she couldn't stop. Tears began to fall and Ishizu gave her a worried look, but one glance at Bakura's face and the older woman excused herself from the room. Rain registered vaguely that the tomb robber hadn't moved to shove her off of his lap, she curled up slightly, hid her face in her hands, and let herself cry, the crying turned to hysterical sobs. No matter what she did, they wouldn't stop. Arms wrapped around her awkwardly and she could feel herself being rocked back and forth gently.

"It's ok. You're alright Rain. I'm sorry I had to pull on your arm like that, we'd better make sure nothing's dislocated…shhhh…It's ok…you're ok…" She felt a soft kiss to the back of her head, if she wasn't such a mess she would have been beyond shocked that Bakura of all people was holding her, and comforting her as she had some sort of mental…thing…well, it was more of a 'Ow, my whole body hurts and my mind can't take anymore of this crap' kinda sorta breakdown. But since when did Bakura _ever_ be all sweet and comforting? This was _so_ not in character for him, not that Rain didn't appreciate it or anything. It was just a 'Did Bakura get abducted by aliens or something?' moment, a moment she knew she's cherish forever…even if it was a serious down point in her life. Both her lives for that matter…She was pretty sure he'd never done anything quite like this for her before…even in her past life. Even that fact made her feel a little better, her sobbing began to subside slowly. Within a few more minutes, it had stopped completely. She gave a rather pitiful sniffle that made her cringe internally before trying to manoeuvre herself off of Bakura's lap, his arms tightened around her and she felt him rest his chin on her head. Another _very_ un-Bakura-like gesture.

"Better now?"

"Um…Yeah…thanks…"

There was an awkward silence before Rain began to wiggle again. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her right should and froze. "I-I should find one of Kaiba's doctors…there's got to be _someone_ that can take a look at me…"

"It's your arm isn't it."

"Uh…yeah." Rain muttered.

"Get up and sit on the couch." He said gruffly, Rain scooted off his lap and did as she was told, trying not to move her arm as it seemed to be hurting worse the more she tried to move it. Bakura stood, then gently began probing her shoulder gently, suddenly he touched something that made Rain scream in pain. He slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh! I don't need your friends to come running through the door thinking someone's killing you! Try to take the pain in silence." He hissed. When Rain nodded he took his hand from her mouth and continued speaking, "Your arm is most _definitely_ dislocated. I'm going to have to push it back in place. I'm going to be honest. It's going to hurt. You are not to make a sound, can you handle that?" Rain's eyes widened slightly at the intensity of his expression, and the words he spoke. She tried to process the whole Bakura playing doctor thing. Well…he _had_ taken an arrow out of her in ancient times so the idea really wasn't that far fetched. Why was he being so freaking _nice_ right now? Even when he was being what Rain thought to be Bakura's version of nice before he hadn't been like _this_. Hell, he'd _held_ her while she'd cried her brains out. She noticed he was beginning to get impatient with her silence.

"Uh…yeah, I guess I'll have to handle it, won't I…"

He smirked, "Well, you really don't have much of a choice." He gripped her elbow. "I'll do it on the count of three, Ok?" Rain nodded,

"One…"

"Two…" He shoved her arm upwards. It made a weird popping noise. Rain held back a yelp, then glared at him.

"I guess I should have expected you to do that." She grumbled. He smirked.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah…uh…thanks…"

He snorted, "You owe me."

"I figured as much."

" Heh…I sure hope your friend gets rescued from the shadow realm soon…"

"Dare I ask why? Can't be cause you're concerned…" Rain rolled her shoulder experimentally…it was still tender, but most of the pain was gone. Bakura gave her a look.

"The woman is driving me crazy…"

"Well, She doesn't really like you…and you don't really like _anybody _so I guess that's to be expected."

"Hmph…didn't think I'd have to spend time with _anyone_ more annoying than you."

Rain suddenly laughed, causing him to glare at her. "Sorry…I was beginning to think you'd been abducted by aliens…I see you're back."

"Aliens?"

Rain sighed, "Never mind…you were being so nice to me it was almost scary."

He raised a brow. "…I was…concerned for your mental state…" Then he smirked, "Don't worry, it won't happen again. I'm sure you know me well enough to know that."

"I know." Rain said quietly, he suddenly straightened.

"someone's coming." With that, he leaned down and captured her mouth with his own, promptly vanishing mid-kiss, leaving a rather flushed Rain sitting in an empty room, seething.

-Smooth…Bastard…-

/ _You know better than to call me names._/ He sounded rather sinister…but amused…Rain had a split second to wonder if he was threatening her or actually teasing before Anzu, Yugi, Jou, Honda, Otogi, Shizuka, Mokuba and Seto Kaiba burst into the room…wait…why was Kaiba here? Before Rain had a chance to really process anything, Kaiba had stormed up to her and grabbed the from of her shirt, lifting her to her feet.

"What the HELL happened to Anna?!" Oooohh…_that_ was why he was here…Rain was _really_ getting sick of being manhandled…

"Marik happened to her…now let go of me you ass."

"W-What?" Rain dusted herself off as the angry CEO let go of her, the others glared at him. "What happened? I thought he was after you. How is it that you're _fine_ and Anna ended up unconscious with the other two?" The others gasped and started throwing comments at him, after a moment Rain had just about had enough. She realized the lights were rather dim in this room, which explained why no one had really noticed her injuries… She sighed, then turned up the dimmer switch. The room was bathed in bright light. Rain held her arms wide, glaring at Kaiba and ignoring everyone else's shocked expressions.

"Do I _look_ fine to you?" She all but growled. "Yes, Anna's mind got sent to the shadow realm, whether you believe in it or not is irrelevant. She decided to get herself involved in my fight, I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. I could have saved her, I should have just gone with the bastard willingly when he first forced his way into the room, while she was still hiding. But no, we got away, found Ishizu. I _thought_ we'd be safe but unfortunately, I underestimated him. Anna tried to protect me, and she paid the price. I knew she was no match for shadow magic…hell, even with no magic involved…even though she had a knife…even if he'd been completely unarmed, she would have been no match for him. I'm sure if she hadn't actually managed to cut him, he would have probably continued to ignore her." Rain wiped her eyes before she could begin to cry again. "When she comes back, I'm going to kick her ass for being an idiot." Kaiba just stared at her, he, for once, seemed to have nothing to say. After a few moments, and a last glance at Anna's still form, he turned on his heel and walked away, followed by Mokuba, who was crying. Rain wandered back to the couch and sat down, she felt drained. Suddenly she was surrounded by her friends,

"What happened to you Rain?" Anzu knelt in front of her, looking at her face with a small frown. "You look like you've been through hell…" There was a large jolt, then a series of bumps and bangs as the blimp escaped from Noah's bizarre stronghold. As they rocketed back into the sky Rain heaved a sigh, gripping the couch tightly.

"I _feel_ like I've been through hell…but I…don't really feel comfortable telling you all right now…maybe not ever…" Most of the others nodded understandingly, after a few moments they began to filter back into their own rooms, eventually it was just Rain and Yugi, who then let Yami take over. His reaction was immediate.

"Rain…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…the one time you truly needed saving, I wasn't there for you…" His guilt was written all over his face, Rain offered him a small smile,

"It's not your fault, it's not like you chose to get forced off the blimp and thrown into a virtual world…besides…It's really not as bad as it looks…"

"N-Not as bad as it looks?! Rain, it's obvious he beat the _hell_ out of you! You have _handprints_ on your wrists….Handprints for Ra's sake! And your face…"

"Yeah, I noticed." Rain said dryly.

"Sorry…"

"It's ok…um…Have you gone back to your room yet?"

"No." He looked puzzled, "Why?"

"Um…I'll walk with you…you may have to sleep in another room for the trip home…"

At the look he gave her, Rain stood up, wincing slightly as she did so. As they left the room and walked down the hallway, Yami kept glancing at her. He noticed her cringe slightly and walk faster as they passed Malik's…now Marik's room. He also noticed the bandage at the top of her breast, partially covered by the t-shirt. (A/N: No, he's not looking at his sorta-sister's boobs…ewness…)

"Did he cut you too?"

"Uh..What?" When he pointed at the bandage Rain flushed slightly, "Oh…I guess…I was covered in cuts and bruises so…I didn't really notice, my mom just put bandages where they were needed."

"Your mom? Um…how exactly…"

"I learned, um, kind of quickly, how to use the power of light…and it somehow got me back home. I stayed there for a night…then tried using the power of light through concentration to get back here…it worked…but it takes a lot out of me."

"Ah…I see…How did you use it the first time?"

Rain paled slightly at the memory, "Well…I…" She stopped speaking as Marik came around the corner ahead of them, coming back towards his room. Rain paled further to the point where Yami thought she may pass out. She felt like she'd used up all the rest of the strength she'd had left to stand up to him the last time and all that was left in her was the fear and hatred. Yami pulled her behind him and glared at Marik, who grinned at them both.

"Ah, glad you're back pharaoh…I'm looking forward to our duel." Then, though Rain was looking away, she could feel his eyes on her. "Hello again princess, I see you've run out of brave words for me?" When Rain didn't answer he made to reach for her, but Yami put out an arm.

"Don't lay a finger on her." He spoke in a hard voice, his fury barely hidden. Marik laughed, but complied.

"Rain, my dear. Why do you hide my mark? It didn't bleed too much did it? It means your mine now, you know." He acted as though Yami wasn't even there. Rain refused to look at him, nor hear his sickening voice. When his words didn't get a rise from her, he laughed again. "I thought you said I wouldn't break you at some point…You seem to be pretty broken to me, and I didn't even get started!"

"I'm not broken." Rain muttered, He grinned some more,

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said, I'm NOT broken." She finally looked up and he took as step back, shocked at the fiery rage in her eyes. She was glowing again, but faintly. "You disgust me, you _filthy_ creature. You don't deserve to even _breathe_ the same air I do. You pollute it. You destroy everything you touch, but not me. You still didn't get what you wanted, and you never will."

"Heh…you think so?"

"I _know_ so."

" You have to be alone some time." He said in a sick whisper.

"I _hate_ _you _with every fibre of my being."

He grinned again, continuing down the hallway to his room.

"Oh, I know." Marik threw over his shoulder, Rain resisted the urge to throw some fire. It took a lot of willpower, she turned back and began walking to Yami's room again, he walked beside her, both of them seething. When they got to the room, which was still doorless, as the door had been pretty much blown to smithereens, Yami gave a slight gasp. He peered inside at the charred walls, broken furniture, and glass that littered the floor, then the small amounts of dried blood on the carpet. Rain noticed him looking,

"I cut my foot on the glass…I threw a lot of fire around, I'm actually shocked it didn't destroy the whole blimp…some water…I think some wind…Marik blew up your door with shadow magic…and threw the furniture around a bit…We may have to dig around a bit to find our stuff…"

Yami turned to her, then gave her a tight, and unexpected hug, Rain squeaked slightly. He let go with an apologetic look.

"Sorry…"

"It's ok…I think I may have some cracked ribs or something…"

He nodded, then eyed the bandage that was mostly hiding beneath the relatively low collar of her shirt. "That's not really a cut is it?"

Rain sighed, "Depends on how you look at it…It's definitely a cut, I mean, It certainly bled. A lot, it's really gross actually. I should change the bandage and put more peroxide on it just in case." Ra knew how many germs Marik had on him…blegh… She stumbled over random stuff to the bathroom, the only place relatively untouched, and turned on the light. Yami followed close behind. "Yami?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell the others anything. I don't need them giving me anymore weird looks than they already do."

"Ok."

Rain smiled slightly, then pulled the neck of her shirt over her shoulder slightly, wincing as that shoulder was still tender, to expose her skin to the top of her bra…she peeled the bandage off of bite make number one, which was the deepest, and grabbed the small peroxide bottle from the cabinet while ignoring Yami's small intake of breath. She grabbed a cotton ball and used a liberal amount on the wound…which was beginning to scab over…hopefully it didn't scar, she didn't need the reminder. Then she stuck a new bandage over it, once again hiding it from view. When she lifted up the lower half of her shirt to expose the bandage at the base of her ribs, Yami gasped again.

"Holy Ra Rain…" The bruises were beginning to heal, but they still looked terrible…He waited while she changed the bandage on bite number two, Rain gave him a half-hearted smile when she was done.

"It's really not as bad as it looks…"

"Not as bad as it looks?! I'll make him pay for this…" Her brother growled, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the room. "Come on, we can go stay with the others, we're almost at the place Kaiba wants to have the finals at anyway."

"I-"

"No. You're staying with us. In a group."

"…Alright, fine then…"

There was silence as they went to the entrance to Jou's room. Then Yami stopped before they went inside, he put a hand on Rain's shoulder.

"There's one thing that's been bothering me…have you seen any of Kaiba's doctors? I know they are around here somewhere and…well, this is probably a really touchy subject but did Marik…cause if he did you need medical attention…I mean, you need it anyway but…"

"No…He didn't..and I don't need medical attention. I wasn't raped…Just got a little beat up. Nothing I can't handle Yami." Rain sighed at the look he gave her, "Besides, I've already been somewhat taken care of…" It slipped out without her actually thinking, Rain cursed internally.

"By whom?"

"Um…One of Kaiba's doctors! I…Uh…Saw one in the room Anna was in…"

"…" Yami gave her the 'I know you're hiding something from me' look and Rain gave a small shrug, she'd never been good at lying, but there was no way she could tell him that _Bakura_ had been the one to look at her, fix her arm, and had part of himself currently residing in her necklace. That…would not go over well… After a few moments, Yami just nodded, letting it go. Rain gave a small sigh of relief as he knocked on Jou's door and they were let in. He explained that his room was in ruins, Rain smiled at them all, then wandered off to the side to sit by the window. After a few minutes, she found Anzu was standing beside her.

"Um, hey Anzu, what's up?"

"Rain." Ok, the voice was _not_ Anzu's, looks like Malik was back for another appearance.

"You know, I _do_ hope you get your body back soon, it's kind of creepy talking to a guy in a girl's body." Rain paused, a dark look coming to her eyes, "And the creep inhabiting your body at the moment is abusing the shit out of it…when you get it back, I apologize for any injuries it may have sustained while under that _thing's_ control."

"What did he do to you? You look like hell…" Rain actually smiled in response to that,

"Gee thanks…" He gave a small laugh, then went back to giving her a sad look.

"I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault Malik. He's not you, he's just in your body. And…I may have to remind myself of that later."

"…I…After I get it back, I won't tease you or anything like before I promise…I can see plainly that you've been hurt, not just physically…it's in your eyes…you're scared…I won't come near you after I get my body back. You can come talk to me if you want, but I won't make you uncomfortable."

Rain smiled, "See, I knew you could be a good guy…Just had to get rid of mister psycho and find out the truth behind your father's death. I can see us being friends Malik." He smiled,

"I hope we are friends. I don't have many."

"I…think I'll be ok with being around you after you get your body from that monster…It's almost like your features warped with him in control so…you don't even look the same."

"I'm still so sorry he hurt you…"

"Say sorry again and I'm going to kick you."

"This is Anzu's body so I won't feel it."

"Then I'll remember to kick you later." Rain grinned, he smiled.

"I'll see you…I can't possess her for long…" With that, he was gone, leaving a confused Anzu standing by Rain instead. The girl looked at her, smiled, then wandered over to the fridge to get something to drink. Rain went back to staring out the window.

/ _Why didn't you tell them about me?_/

-That's pretty obvious don't you think? Since you're kinda sorta their enemy and all…-

/ _Hmph…I know, but you don't lie well…so I figured it would come out. The most that would have happened would be they wouldn't discuss anything in front of you because they would worry I'd be listening. I doubt they would be angry with you._/

- I'm sure my brother would think I invited this. Why, do you want them to know?-

/ _No…I'm just curious…_/

-You've been acting weird lately…It's kind of freaky.-

/ _Hm…well, I still feel the same, my goals haven't changed. I'll admit, I have been kind to you lately as I didn't feel like having you traumatized further. Don't worry, things will be back to normal soon, as I do not enjoy being such a sickeningly comforting presence. I'm sure you know that._/

Rain smiled, - You may not like to be comforting, but you're good at it when you want to be.- He didn't answer, she could feel the small amount of irritation radiating from his spirit at the comment. The intercom came on, telling them they would reach their destination in about ten minutes. The nightmare with Marik was nearly over, and Rain was beyond happy about that.

* * *

_Yeah, I know Bakura was SO out of character for this chapter__…but as he keeps promising, He will be back to normal soon…I figure he could be nice if he really needed to be, he's pretty good at pretending to be Ryo…so, yeah. Ahem, well, this one was a tad faster to update than the last one, slowly I'm getting better! Hope you like it! Let me know if you've got any ideas for the plot and whatnot, advice, tips, etc. Review and let me know what you think! Thank you again for all who have reviewed, favorited, and kept up with this story so far! Couldn't do it without you! -Hands out home made cookies- _


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: ticked off thief.

_Yays! Chapter 11! I don't own anything! Well, except for Rain and Anna. I'm so sorry I kinda dropped off the face of the earth for a bit, just been really busy lately, and my computer got a really bad virus and I had to pretty much replace a bunch of software… I'm back now though! Thanks all who reviewed, favorited, and read up to this point! Hugs to all!_

_Bakura: Get on with the chapter woman, the readers have waited long enough!_

_Whatever…on with the story!_

…_..._

After the blimp landed, Rain checked on Anna, though she couldn't do it alone because the others, who were really only trying to help, had deemed it unsafe for her to go _anywhere_ alone. Seriously. To the point where it was _extremely_ annoying as they would constantly ask if she was alright. After bearing the constant irritation for twenty minutes she finally rounded on them.

"That is ENOUGH! I'm FINE! I just want one moment of silence PLEASE, before I go absolutely insane! I can understand you're worried but this is _ridiculous. _" There was immediate silence…well, outside her head… Bakura, meanwhile, was laughing his ghostly ass off, making her _really_ wish she could actually glare at him. She settled for giving her necklace a look, which just made him laugh harder.

"Shut up." The others just looked at her weird, Anzu put her hand on Rain's shoulder.

"Um…Rain, um…Did you just tell your necklace to shut up?"

"No…" Rain grumbled, Anzu wisely let it go as Rain continued to glare at the poor necklace…

-Ugh…you know, when I said I wanted a moment of silence I meant you too…you're almost as annoying as they are right now. I just want everyone to shut the hell up…-

/ _How exactly have I been annoying?_/

-Uh, you were laughing like a maniac for the last fifteen minutes straight. In my head. That, let me tell you, is kind of annoying.-

/ _poor little princess. I can't believe you say things like that so casually. I've killed for less than that, you know._/

Rain didn't answer, she merely smiled to herself before focusing back on her shocked friends, who were all still looking at her rather strangely. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and was saved the effort of explaining away her actions when Kaiba and Jou began insulting each other. She rolled her eyes when ordered them to pretty much move their asses. He was always in such a hurry, wasn't he? Rain sighed when Yami, who had taken over the minute Kaiba had begun speaking, began to walk beside her. Marik's voice cut through the air.

"Ah, it's such a lovely day isn't it pharaoh? It's such a shame that some of your friends can't enjoy it from all the way in the shadow realm." He snickered. Before Yam could say anything Jou cut in and yelled at Marik. Rain couldn't help herself, she laughed, causing the others to look at her in confusion.

"J-Jounouchi…You called him an artichoke head…BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I-It's so true!" She didn't even look to see Marik glaring, she could feel it and for once she didn't care.

"Rain?" She could hear the concern in Yami's voice and let herself sigh before glancing over at him as they continued to walk to the duel tower. He was giving her that piercing look he always used on people when he was really serious about something. "We're all worried about you…"

"Look, I'm sorry about yelling like that…I'll apologize to everyone, I promise…I didn't mean to freak out…but I usually like having a little bit of time to myself and if one more person asked me if I was alright I figured I may have decked them for it... Especially after all the crap I've been dealing with."

"I understand…that's fine but…" He paused. "Is there something you're hiding? You know you can tell me anything right?"

Rain tilted her head to the side, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Thank you for your concern, but must you know everything that goes on in my head? Please don't start getting nosy, if I knew something important, you'd be the first to know."

/_Liar!_/ Rain ignored Bakura's comment and harsh laughter. Yami put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry…I was just worried about you as you seem to attract trouble like no one I have ever come across. You've even gone as far as falling in love with some of this said trouble, and don't tell me you don't still love him because I can see right through you." Rain gave him a dirty look.

"I can't exactly help who I fell in love with in _any_ life and you know it. Nor can I help who I seem to _attract_." She sent a glare Marik's way, he caught her and smirked, sending her a suggestive motion. She gave him the finger. Yami sighed, shaking his head,

"I can't believe you're _provoking_ him."

"Sure you can. You just don't like it. He provokes me whenever he sees me, and you're going to get rid of him right away anyway, right? I have the right to at least try to piss him off."

Yami sighed and shook his head, "Fine…do what you want. Just…Be careful. You're injured enough as it is." Rain knew he was eyeing her bruised cheek. She touched her face self-consciously.

"The bruises will heal in time Yami…they already look better."

"It's not just the visible injuries I speak of. As I said, I'm worried about you Rain, you've been acting strange." Rain frowned at him,

"I'm sorry to worry you…I'm fine. Just…get rid of that monster and I'm sure I'll be back to normal in no time."

They were cut off as they entered the tower, Rain looked around as the Kaibacorp employee with them instructed the group to stand in the centre of the tower. Even the walls looked high tech, Rain found herself wondering how they'd be getting to the top. She may have watched the series but she couldn't remember _everything_.

"As you know there are four finalists left in the tournament. Mr.'s Katsuya Jounouchi, Yugi Mouto, Malik Ishtar, and of course Mr. Seto Kaiba. There are four doors in this room that the finalists may choose. Each must choose a different door, choose wisely." Rain noticed Yami frown and mutter slightly to himself. She gave him a little half smile. After a bit of indecision on Jou's part, the four of them chose a door. Mokuba beckoned.

"Hey, the rest of you follow me!" Rain blinked, then followed him onto a thing that reminded her of a conveyor belt. "Good luck." She muttered before losing sight of Yam and Jou. The conveyor belt took the group, which now consisted of Rain, Anzu, Honda, that guy with the dice, and Mokuba, into what looked almost like an elevator shaft. _Wow_…that's high…after a short wait, the four duelists arrived up through the floor, coming to rest slightly higher than her and the others. The wall beside each individual had life points. Rain kind of zoned out as the guy, Roland? Announced the rules to the four way duel that would decide who would be dueling first. She knew how this would turn out anyway. The duel began and she watched the four duke it out…if not slowly…did they have to explain everything they did? Rain jumped slightly when Bakura randomly materialized beside her…though in his ghostlike form, Rain couldn't help but look around to see if anyone else noticed him. She heard him snicker, and glanced his way. He was looking at the arena with a bored expression on his face.

" So, want to place bets on who'll be in the first round of the semi finals?"

"Jou and Marik will be in the first round." Rain muttered in response, he raised a brow.

"Why do you bother watching the duels if you have knowledge of what will transpire?"

"Because, things can change. Besides, I like to be there to support my friends and see the downfall of my enemies."

"How sweet…You _do_ realize you're talking out loud. Your friends will start thinking you're crazy if it looks like you're talking to yourself like that."

" …" Rain didn't answer, choosing to ignore the tomb robber, who she was still irritated with for earlier in the day. Besides, his random sarcasm was getting annoying. She realized that the four way duel had just ended when the Roland stated that the first duel of the semi finals would be Marik vs. Jou. Mokuba ran over to an elevator door, which opened for him.

"Come on guys, the first duel starts now!" They followed him in the elevator, then up a number of stairs. It took a few minutes but eventually they were at the top of the duel tower. She followed the other spectators to the sidelines, giving a slight squeak when she realized how high up they were…and the railings didn't look so sturdy. "Does Kaiba have something against doing things on the ground? First a blimp and now this…sheesh…"

"You're right, it's kind of crazy isn't it…" Anzu appeared at her side as she peered over the railing. Marik's harsh laughter made both girls jump.

"Careful ladies, you don't want to fall to your deaths now, do you?" He laughed again as they both glared at him. "Oh, and I'm glad to see you'll be watching this time Rain, don't worry, I'll be giving you quite a show."

"The only show I want to see is you losing."

"I'll regret disappointing you then, when this is over." He cackled,

"Hey, leave the girls alone you freak!" Jou yelled, Rain looked on as the duel began. As Rain expected, it soon became a shadow duel. Dark clouds surrounding the arena and blotting out the sun, causing a purple haze. She shivered as the chill of the shadow realm set in. After the rules of this particular game became evident Rain shook her head, irritated as the others looked on in horror.

"'Kay, really? Does he have to _torture_ everyone he duels?" Rain muttered, annoyed with his pointless evil ways. -Stupid insane asshole…- Marik chuckled amid the cries of outrage, his eyes met Rain's for a moment, he grinned, throwing out an arm in her general direction.

" I'm shocked, I would think your protective _lover_ would have wanted to be here to keep an eye on you. I know he doesn't like you being anywhere near me, even if you're merely watching one of your pathetic friends duel. Where exactly is he now? Back in the shadows where he belongs?" It took Rain a moment to process what he was talking about. Then she turned three shades of red,

"My _lover_? Since _when_? Why don't you just get on with your duel and leave me alone, you're spouting nonsense." Yami looked at her, then Marik, then her again.

"Rain, what is he talking about?"

"Oh, you didn't tell them?" Rain glared up at him,

"There's nothing to tell." She hissed. _The others don't need to know Bakura left a piece of himself here. That would open a whole new can of worms I'm not willing to deal with. _

"Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?" Jou yelled across the arena angrily, Yami was eyeing Rain with a questioning look.

"Rain? The thief is still in the shadow realm, right?" He so knew something…

"How the heck should I know? Most likely. Marik's insane. Maybe he thinks he saw Bakura lurking around after their duel and thinks he somehow got out of the shadow realm." It was lame, but it was the best thing Rain could come up with at the moment. She was startled when Bakura snorted from beside her, she glanced at him while trying hard to look like she wasn't looking at anything in particular. He was still in his ghostly state, she was glad there weren't any mediums or whatever there. That would have completely destroyed her attempts at saying Bakura was gone completely. He was smirking slightly, though his eyes were narrowed as he watched Marik warily. He spoke without looking at Rain,

"You know, you're terribly bad at hiding things. I don't know why you bother anyway, it's not like they can do anything about the situation. You may be able to pull the wool over most of your friend's eyes, but your idiot brother can see right through you. The only reason he's not pushing the issue is because he's got other things to worry about at the moment." He gestured towards Marik, then finally looked at Rain. His smirk grew. "And what's so bad about me being considered your lover?"

"Isn't a lover someone who shares your bed? I don't recall sleeping with you." Rain whispered, Bakura laughed.

"But you have slept with me." Rain blushed, looking flustered for a moment, which caught her brother's attention.

"Are you alright? You look flushed." He looked at her with concern, touching his hand to her forehead. Rain blushed harder.

"I'm fine…" She mumbled. -You're such an asshole Bakura, as far as I know, I only slept with you _once, I doubt it was that great _sinceI don't even really remember it_,_ and that wasn't even in this life! How many times must I tell you that doesn't count?- Bakura stared at her, irritation on his face.

" You're the same person, how does it not count?"

-I'm not having this conversation right now. You're an idiot if you can't understand my past self and I may be the same soul, but we aren't the same person. Every experience from this life has moulded me into the person I am today, in a normal case of reincarnation, the person doesn't remember their previous life. On a deep level, they carry what they learned through life lessons from previous lives, but…-

"You aren't a normal case of reincarnation. You have your memories, you act nearly the same, you look the same, just accept the facts and stop being foolish."

-I'm not denying that I'm Rayana…but I'm also Rain. Because I've lived this life too, I can guarantee there _are_ differences. I'm sure you'll see them in time…You of all people should know that even without reincarnation, a few thousand years can really change a person.-

"Whatever. The most I see is that you've become weaker. You barely understand your powers in this life, and I believe you're more emotional than you were before, you lack the training you had that made you a formidable force." Rain glared openly at him, unable to help it.

"Y-You insulting jerk! What do you know? How do you know If I remember any training or not? Idiot, you just assume shit and act all high and mighty, when was the last time you actually won a duel? At least I can win a fight, you pathetic asshole!"

"As I said. You. Are. Too. Emotional."

"And you're a dumb ass. You couldn't even beat Marik, so how exactly did you plan on even putting a scrape on my brother? Yeah, I'm emotional, but you're so freaking single minded it makes me sick! It's ridiculous!"

Babura's eyes narrowed, " You're beginning to cross the line woman."

" Does it look like I care?"

" Woman…" Bakura growled, Rain cut him off.

"Oh just shut the hell up! Say another word and I'll…I'll…"

"You'll _what_?" Rain could see the angry challenge in his eyes, she forced herself to maintain eye contact despite the look of death she was getting.

"I'll do _something_…I just don't know what yet…" The balloon that had been her anger was deflating…then Rain realized she'd been speaking out loud for most of that fight…yelling…at what appeared to be thin air. She blushed as everyone stared at her, Bakura snorted after a moment.

"Hmph…well, I don't find you particularly frightening, my dear princess. So I believe I'll do what I want regardless of your empty thre-" Rain cut him off again, closing her eyes and trying to think loudly,

-SHUT UP!- He glared at her, crossing his arms and doing a great job of looking murderous.

"Just because I'm not all here right now doesn't mean I can't punish you later. You're starting to really anger me Rain. A big mistake on your part." He faded away, giving her a look that promised pain, leaving Rain seething somewhat. She knew she was acting crazy, like she was always angry for no reason. She was starting to feel bad for yelling at Bakura, she'd definitely gone overboard, even openly insulting him …and from what she'd seen, no one pulled something like that and got away unscathed when it came to the king of thieves. She gulped. The homicidal look he'd given her had been _scary_. She was so _screwed._

"Uh…What was that all about?" Anzu was the first to speak, Rain sighed, glancing at Yami, who _definitely _knew something was up with her now that she'd had a fight with someone none of them could see. He would either believe that she'd lost her mind completely and _thought_ Bakura was still there, _or_ that Bakura was really somehow communicating with her. From the look he was giving her, she was pretty sure he was thinking idea number two. Everyone else though, she figured, thought she'd gone off the deep end. Except for Marik, he'd seen Bakura though so he could just put two and two together. Rain didn't even spare him a glance. A worried voice cut through her thoughts.

"Rain. You should go back to the blimp…maybe keep Shizuka company." Rain looked up at Jou, tears of her own frustration evident on her face.

"But…"

"Rain, he's right. We all know that Marik's just going to taunt you throughout his duel with Jou, and no one needs that. Especially you." Yami's eyes trapped her, she knew he was very upset with her, and was dreading the conversation they would soon have. Another part of her mind was still reminding her that she should really be more worried about Bakura. She knew he was beyond pissed off, and was sure that the moment she was alone she'd be in for it.

"What you need is a good amount of rest and some counseling." Rain stared at the owner of _that_ voice, Seta Kaiba looked back at her coolly. "You've been acting crazy Rain, and that won't help Anna. Nor will it help you. I have doctors you can talk to, I'm only offering once though so I would advise you to be smart and follow good advice before you hurt yourself. We even have medication if need be." After a moment Rain nodded, then closed her eyes. Attempting to ward off the anger that was flaring within her.

"I…will admit that I need to rest…but I don't need counseling. I'm _fine_. I swear I'm not crazy, ok? Just really stressed out. Now." She clapped her hands, "Joe, you have a duel to win. Maybe you can end this nightmare. We're all counting on you…and I'm going to try not to snap at anyone. I'm sorry for being so horrible…and weird…I'll try to start acting sane again…"

"It's alright Rain, no worries." Jou gave her a thumbs up, which she returned with a smile. Anzu put an arm around her shoulders in a short half hug, Rain looked to Yami, who after a moment, smiled too.

"I'm sure we all accept your apology Rain, and you're right, Jou has a duel to win." He looked at Jou, who nodded. Marik rolled his eyes,

"Get on with it, I'm getting bored. Make your move…or just give up so I can go deal with the royal _siblings_." He growled, Jou yelled something back at him, Rain sighed, then made her way away from the duel, down back to the blimp, deep in thought, she barely paid attention to where exactly she was walking and before she knew it, she found herself standing at the door to Bakura's room. She sighed, before making her way inside.

"I suppose I can rest in here…Hopefully Bakura's off stewing in his anger somewhere…I need some peace." She laid on the bed, staring sat the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes to the world, within minutes, sleep overtook her. Rain began to dream.

…...

It was that field again…but no dead people…or trees, or _anything_ this time. Just lots of dead looking grass… It was night, but there were clouds hiding the stars and it was cold, Rain stood there, looking around for a moment. She felt strange, as though someone or some_thing_ was watching her…waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She shivered, eyeing her surroundings. After a moment of hesitation she began to walk, not really caring where exactly she was going as everything seemed to look the same anyway. After a short time she realized something strange was happening to her surroundings, what looked like a dark ominous fog was spreading in the distance, getting closer and closer the longer she watched. The sky began to darken as well. Rain looked around warily.

"Ok, now would be a great time for me to wake up." She shouted at the sky, feeling panic beginning to rise in her as the fog began to swirl around her legs. A familiar dark chuckle from behind her made Rain spin around, eyes wide.

"You!" She took a step back as Bakura walked her way, he smirked as she began pinching at her arms, "Ok, wake up Rain! Come _on_! Come on…"

"No matter what you do, you won't wake up until your nightmare ends…and believe me, it's barely begun." Rain shuddered at the tone his voice had taken, reminding her of just how evil he could be if he was pissed off. Suddenly Rain tripped, falling onto her back as he advanced on her, a smirk still on his face as he planted a foot on either side of her body before she could get to her feet. He came to his knees and crouched over her, Rain blushed slightly at the position, which was stupid really, that her brain could still think that way when he was looking down at her with lethal eyes, a predator's eyes. Rain took at shaking breath,

"I'm really sorry for freaking out at you Bakura, please please _please_ don't kill me." He chuckled, then stroked her face with the back of his hand gently,

"Oh don't worry, I'd never kill you Rain, darling…though, I have no problem scaring you, Especially here, in your dreamscape, where no evidence will be left behind, only a memory. It's perfect if you need to be taught a lesson." He suddenly slammed his fist onto the ground beside the girl's head, making her flinch, closing her eyes in fear. The heat from his body suddenly disappeared, making Rain's eyes snap open in surprise. She stood up quickly, looking around. The fog was so thick and dense now that she couldn't see a thing. Had no idea where the tomb robber was, which was most likely his goal. What was he planning? He'd said something about punishment, so she knew that was definitely part of this. Was he just going to scare her half to death? Because he was doing a good job of that already, she stood as still as possible, afraid to move a muscle. Sudden laughter echoed around her, and something brushed against her leg, making her scream.

"What's wrong? You scared?" His voice felt like it was coming from everywhere at once. Rain wished she could _see_. She tried to use wind to blow away the fog, to her dismay it did nothing but make the fog swirl further. She heard Bakura's taunting voice again, "Oh, that's a shame, isn't it? Your powers will never work against mine, I'm sure you've figured out why it's become so dark by now."

"Y-you bastard…what is the point of this!" Rain yelled into the fog,

"Now now, you're a smart girl. You know why I'm doing this." She suddenly felt his hands on her waist before being spun around. Fearful blue eyes met angry crimson.

"I-I really didn't mean what I said before you know, I know you're not weak at all. I'm just really emotional right now, I-I don't know how to make you believe I'm sorry…" He raised a brow, a small glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Are you finished? Or do you plan on stuttering some more?" When Rain didn't answer, he pulled her closer so her body was molded against his own, she blushed prettily, looking off to the side, making him smirk. "No more to say? Good…Hmmm…Maybe I should take a page from Marik's books and have a little bit of fun?"

"That's low Bakura, even for you." She couldn't keep the trembling from her voice.

" Even for me? Rain, you forget that I'm a thief and a murderer among other things…nothing is too low for me." Her head snapped back to look at him. At Rain's horrified expression he chuckled darkly, running a hand along her side. "…Or maybe we'll just play a little game of tag. I'm not quite the criminal I used to be after all…" Rain gaped at him in horror, trying to absorb what he was saying to her.

"Eh…tag?" She stared at him incredulously. "Are you _serious_?"

His eyes narrowed at her, "You think I'm _joking_?" The shadows almost seemed to take shape, and she somehow found herself unable to breathe. Both airways were blocked by what looked like solidified shadow…eh…stuff…Whatever it was it was cold and icky. She struggled for a few minutes, after a while she was seeing black dots, light headed and dizzy Rain knew this was killing her. It wasn't long before she collapsed, Bakura's arms holding her upright. A moment later she could breathe again, Rain choked, taking unsteady breaths into her desperate lungs, Her heart beating fiercely in her heaving chest. She felt the tomb robber's lips on her ear. "See how easy it is to hurt you when I'm annoyed? Would you like to play a game with me now?" Tears fell from Rain's eyes as she found herself leaning on him against her will. She'd nearly blacked out due to lack of air, and it took her a good amount of time to regain herself.

"I doubt I have a choice in the matter." She whispered, surprised to find him laughing in response.

"No you don't. I'll explain the rules, it's quite simple really." Rain shivered as she felt his breath in her ear, his lips touching her skin. Despite her being afraid, having his body against hers was driving her traitorous hormones crazy. Not that she'd give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Hmmm, did he work out? Wait, do ancient spirits work out? Interesting concept…well, he was a tomb robber, obviously he doesn't have an inch of fat on him, Rain was suddenly struck by the image of his very nice shirtless chest from his thieving days. And that tan…damn… _Great, I'm really in need of a therapist, there's something seriously wrong with my brain…nothing says you're a crazy idiot better than being distracted by dirty thoughts while the object of said thoughts is an insane, sadistic, downright evil spirit bent on world domination currently holding you hostage in your own nightmare…place…I'm thoroughly screwed up. _Rain forced herself to focus.

"So…as you can see, the fog I've created around us will play a part of this game, I shall give you a head start of ten seconds, if you can manage to keep from being caught by me for twenty minutes, you win. If I catch you before then…I win and you comply to whatever I want and don't talk back to me for a week. I'd have to say, you've got it pretty good either way, as there's no shadow realm or death involved."

"I-I'd have to say I'm a little surprised…I was expecting you to come up with something less generic…and maybe a bit more evil."

"Would you like something more interesting? I _can _send you to the shadow realm for a bit instead…"

"Uh…No, I'm good."

"Excellent. Now, Run." He released her at that, Rain didn't need to be told twice, she bolted into the dense fog, trying to run as quietly as possible. She darted in a zig zag pattern, before turning in a wide loop. She stopped after a bit to catch her breath, hoping she could hear where Bakura was, if he was close or not. She tilted her head, listening. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and _thought_ she could hear the dead grass crunching to her left but just as she heard the sound, it stopped, making her wonder if she'd really heard anything at all. Rain tried to slow her terrified heart, there was nothing more frightening than being alone with yami bakura in a field, surrounded by dense fog, while he's hunting you and you know it. He puts the bad guys in horror flicks to shame. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out her surroundings.

_Thump thump thump_ crunch

Rain's thought process froze and her breath caught in her throat, he was close. Her eyes shot open. She could see his figure a few feet away off to the side, she bolted, cursing herself for stopping too long. Suddenly, she skidded to a stop, he was in front of her now.

"H-how the hell…" He chuckled,

"Now, I never said I wouldn't use my power over the darkness to my advantage."

"B-but that means I have no chance!"

His hand suddenly closed around her wrist, Rain could see his smug and slightly deranged grin.

"Precisely."

"You cheated, so there's no way I'm going to just do whatever you want or-"

"I didn't cheat, but regardless of that, no matter how I won…I _did_ win. Which means, you're mine for a week."

"I'm not yours you jerk." Rain hissed, he tugged her against him, smirking at her discomfort.

"Now now, no talking back." He gripped her chin and tilted her face to look at him. "I don't want to discipline you, so don't make me. It would mar your pretty skin." Rain shivered, she wanted to back away as suddenly and unexpectedly, ice cold fear had her heart in it's grip. An image of Marik came to the forefront of her mind, she tried to make it go away. _This is Bakura, not Marik. He's trying to scare you, remember?. _

"B-Bakura…P-Please don't…" He started slightly at the sudden fear in her voice, the vulnerability in her eyes. He couldn't help but find his sadistic side rather excited by her fear, he pushed it down in disgust, not her. Never her. What she'd never know was that he may talk about harming her for the sadistic fun of it, he doubted he could ever bring himself to doing it. She was the only person he could never truly take pleasure from causing pain. Yeah, he liked to scare her, to keep her in line…and he was rather rough with her, but he'd never outright, grievously harm her. Not physically anyway. He brushed a stray hair from her face.

"That filthy imposter really did a number on you…before he got his hands on you, little threats like that would have just made you angry…" Rain blinked at the tomb robber. Her shaking was beginning to subside as she kept repeating the same mantra in her head. _He's not Marik, not Marik, not Marik…_as her breathing steadied Rain berated herself for her brief panic attack, she truly prayed that this sort of reaction to little threats wouldn't be a reoccurring sort of thing.

"I'm going to leave you alone for a while, for the most part. I'll be out of the shadow realm soon I'm sure, so we'll wait until then for the week of your punishment to begin. I will still have a connection to your little necklace but I won't be there really…though…I will hear you if something happens, just call out for me and I'll come back. That's why I placed a piece of my soul in the necklace in the first place. I don't trust you not to get into trouble when I'm gone. I don't need to add worrying about you to my to do list."

Rain gave him a look, choosing not to saying anything about how touched she was by the idea that he'd actually admitted to worrying about her. She cleared her throat after a moment of awkwardness. "I do hope you know I'm not going to do whatever you want….not even for a day tomb robber."

He grinned, "We'll see about that." She rolled her eyes in response.

"I suppose I should allow you to wake up now, It's been some time and you might as well go back to your little friends, as I'd rather you be in a group…not secluded and unconscious." Rain didn't have any idea how to respond to that one. Did Bakura actually sound concerned for her wellbeing? Hmmm…he was still harsh, but this caring side of him was kinda cute, She felt a small smile form on her lips. _Did I just think of the tomb robber as cute? Jeez, maybe I do need counseling…He's never cute…hot? Yes. Sexy? Yeah, definitely…when he's not being a creepy freak that is…handsome? Oh yeah…but Cute? I've lost my mind._ Rain shook herself mentally, blinking.

"Hey Babura, isn't it your fault I'm still asleep? You're the one who decided to force me to stay in a nightmare and chase me around like that, now you're saying me being unconscious is a bad thing?"

He snorted, "It's not the fact that you're not awake that's bad, it's merely the fact that you're alone, and if Marik is finished his duel with that idiot Jounouchi I have no doubt that in the small amount of spare time he's got, he'll come looking for you my dear. I'm not strong enough right now to protect you as I wish, so I would rather you find a more populated area to rest in." Rain stared at him for a moment, hearing Bakura talk about wanting to protect her made her feel very fuzzy and warm inside, again, and she allowed herself to feel how surreal the situation with him, how her life had suddenly gone insane, was. She wondered if it was strange that she didn't care so much that he'd just been playing a rather frightening mind game with her. It's like he'd forgotten he was supposed to be freaking her out…and suddenly was being nice to her instead. He stared back at her, tilting his head to the side.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring at me, woman."

"Oh!" Rain blushed, looking away, she noticed the fog was completely gone. "I was just thinking…you can be kind of…sweet…on the odd occasion. When you're not being evil, that is." He stared…stared…and stared some more. To the point where Rain was beginning to think something was wrong with him. She eyed him, trying to figure out if she should be concerned.

"Eh…Bakura, you alright?" He blinked, then frowned at her.

"Did you really just say I'm sweet? I'm _not_ sweet…" Rain giggled, which just made him blink at her in shock. "You're laughing at me now?" Rain shook her head,

"No…I'm not. More at myself really. How about, I promise I'll never tell anyone anything about you being all awesome and protective. I won't tarnish your crazy evil psychopath name you've made for yourself. In return, just accept that you actually _can_ be nice on the odd occasion and you've proven it."

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment in exasperation. This girl was making him go soft and he hated it. "Fine, whatever. Just remember, I do nothing for free, and I shall be demanding my payment in the near future." On that note, Rain was promptly woken from her nap. She sat up, looking at the time after giving herself a moment to recouperate from _that_ bizarre encounter. What the hell was that anyway? More tomb robber randomness? She could have swore he was going to torture or maim her when he'd showed up in the dreamscape…but they'd played some sort of nightmare-tag game. Oh, and he'd suffocated her with shadow…stuff…Rain felt a strange sort of relief things hadn't ended up as bad as she'd thought they'd be. Then she remembered, apparently she was to pretty much be his slave for a week when he came back. _Great, that sound be loads of torturous fun I don't need…I'm so gonna need a therapist…hmmm, maybe Kaiba will give me a hand with that as he seems to think I already require one. _Rain groaned and got to her feet, she fixed her bed head, then wandered into the hall.

"Huh…wonder if Jou's duel is ove-" Before the sentence was finished she heard a commotion around the corner, moving quickly, Rain found herself right in the path of a very distressed pharoah. He had tears in his eyes, Anzu closely followed him.

"There was nothing you could have done!" He turned and slammed his fist into the wall, a rare show of violence on his part. Neither of them seemed to notice Rain standing there yet.

"Damnit, how many more people need to get hurt? How can that insane bastard do this! So many people have lost their souls, so many friends have become victims of this madman…when will this end?" Anzu sighed, putting a hand on the distraught man's shoulder. Rain sighed loudly, causing them both to notice her presence. To both girl's shock, the pharoah stormed up to Rain and gripped her shoulders harshly.

"You knew…you _knew_ Jou was going to lose that duel. Yet you said nothing! Why?" Rain winced at his grip,

"Yami…you're being a little violent." She whispered, causing him to let go of her with a start, his eyes widened in shame.

"I'm sorry Rain…I'm just…"

"I know…You know I can't change certain things…even if I told you, it wouldn't have made a difference. This will all end, and everything will be ok…when you defeat Marik. When he's gone, everyone he's sent to the shadow realm will return. You just need to have faith in yourself. Don't lose your hope, or everything will be lost…and I…really need you to win. We all do…"

"Remember, we're all cheering for you. You'll face Marik, and you'll win. You have your friends, and your cards." Anzu began to give the usual pep talk, Rain fought the urge to run away. _Ugh…friendship speech…must tune out or my ears will bleed…_She made the quick decision to leave the other two alone, continuing along. She knew round two would be Kaiba vs. Yugi…aka Yami…but yeah, she had a bit of time it seemed, to grab a bite to eat. There was a kitchen somewhere around here, and she planned to find it.

Two minutes later, Rain hit the jackpot. She grinned as she raided the fridge in the room, grabbing a one person salad with a plastic fork. She opened it and took a crunchy bite.

"Oh! I'm in heaven…"

" When was the last time you ate?" Rain jumped up and spun to face the owner of the voice, she blinked as she realized it was only Ishizu. The older woman made her way to one of the wooden chairs by a table across the room, motioning for Rain to join her. Rain followed, sitting down across from the kind Ishtar. She took another bite of salad thoughtfully.

"Hmmm…I actually don't know…Oh, wait! I had coffee before I left my parents in their realm! Does that count?" Ishizu gave her a concerned frown.

"Well, you must begin to remember to eat. Take better care of yourself, your body needs food to recouperate properly and I doubt you want to be fainting or anything, correct?"

"Last I checked, you weren't a doctor." Rain found herself grumbling before she could stop herself. The other woman's slender brow raised a fraction.

"Would you like me to have one of Kaiba's doctors tell you the same thing? It can be arranged. Though I doubt they'd stop at that, they would want to check you over for anything serious, then maybe give you some fluids, an iv perhaps. It would probably be better for you anyway, but I get the feeling that you would truly fight the notion of resting until we get back to domino."

Rain shook her head, smiling weakly at Ishizu, "I'm sorry, I'm being a dork right now. But you don't need to worry about me, I'm trying, hence why I came food hunting right now. I didn't realize how truly hungry I was until I actually got my hands on some food." She giggled, looking at her fork. "And please don't tell me off for wandering off on my own, I didn't think now would have been a great time to mention being hungry to the pharaoh, or anyone in our little group…with Jounouchi being out cold and all. He'll be ok though, he's a strong person." Ishizu nodded after a moment, then shifted in her seat.

"May I ask you something Rain?"

"Uh, sure." Rain finished off her salad, blinking at Ishizu in curiosity. "What would you like to know?"

"Have you been feeling odd at all lately? Since Bakura got sent to the shadow realm?"

Rain frowned, "What do you mean by odd? Cause I'm in pain, but that's cause I've had quite the beating since I got on this blimp. I mean, I'm sad that he's in the shadow realm…"

"Hm…I just remembered something I saw in a vision… about the power of balance, the souls involved. It's probably nothing, but…It worried me."

"What do you remember?"

" I saw a tablet, with a number of explanations on it, I couldn't make out everything, but I saw something along the lines of 'the two souls which make up the power of balance are forever tied to each other, true soul mates. Unlike normal soul mates though, if one is to go to the afterlife the other will follow soon after, as one can not survive long without the other'."

Rain stared at the other woman, "But…that doesn't make sense…I wasn't even in the same reality until recently, and I've been very healthy. Bakura's been around for a few thousand years….besides that, he's already dead right?"

"True…but think about it. Yes, he's already a spirit, He has no body of his own, but he's still _here_. He's lost much of his sanity, and the sennen items have only become active again relatively recently. He was dormant for many of those years within the ring, not completely awakened until Ryo Bakura gained the item when he was a child. Your power was dormant until you returned here, so in a way, you both have been protected from the negative effects of your bond. Even still, I don't believe your bond has fully asserted itself yet, I'm sure it's due to the fact that you've re-incarnated, while he has not truly been able to. Remember, this is all in theory though, as I doubt anything like this has ever happened before."

"That…is probably the single most confusing thing I have ever heard…and sooo not what I need on my mind right now. Besides, if he hasn't been able to re-incarnate what the heck is Ryo?"

"I believe that Ryo and Yugi for that matter, are proof that the gods still attemped to have the two reincarnated, even lacking the original souls. Perhaps trying to balance things out…I really don't know. I don't think I'll ever be able to explain it, because as I said, the situation has never happened before. Have you not noticed how innocent and pure the two seem though? It's because they have no darkness of their own, they have no past lives because who they would have been are still in the world of the living."

"So…ignoring the Yugi, Ryo thing, as it's too complicated for us mortals to ever figure out, are you saying that when Bakura leaves the world of the living completely and faces judgment in the afterlife, there's actually a possibility that his absence will eventually kill me? That's just awesome news, isn't it…" Rain rolled her eyes, unable to hold in her sarcasm. _Good lord, that thought is truly terrifying…because he'll be gone rather soon if I can't stop his fate somehow._

"Calm yourself, I don't know if it's fact or not, only that I read it in my vision and remembered it just now. I do not know what will occur when the thief meets his final end, but please don't assume you're going to die. You must have hope."

"Easy for you to say…You really shouldn't have even told me. I mean, how would you feel if someone came out and said 'Oh, you know that evil spirit in the sennen ring? The one who's your soul mate? He might murder you slowly without meaning to by dying himself.' I mean, me having cool magic powers? Way cool. The fact that my favorite series is actually real? That's great! The fact that I was originally from said series _and_ am the soul mate of the most interesting, longest lasting villain I've ever thought to be a fan of? Um…well, that takes more getting used to…I still feel the need to pinch myself on occasion…but I can accept it…Being molested, injured and harassed by Mr. pervert-bodysnatching-psycho that scares the crap out of me and sent my best friend to the shadow realm? Um… I may need help getting rid of the nightmares… But I'm sort of dealing with it. But this new development you've so kindly brought to light? I may have to pretend you never brought it up…I really _really _can't handle the thought that I may die slowly and painfully within a few years without finally going over the deep end. I'm only human, there's only so much I can deal with."

Ishizu met Rain's stare with sad eyes. "I'm sorry Rain…I just figured you had a right to know."

Rain took a shuddering breath, clasping shaking hands on her lap. "I know…don't apologize, you're right. It's something I should know, I'm just a bit stressed at the moment so you can't blame me for having a bit of a rant…especially considering what you just said to me."

There was suddenly an announcement that the next duel was to take place, Rain looked towards the speaker on the wall, then back at the other woman in the room. She made no move to get up, Ishizu smiled at her.

"I assume you have no plan on going to watch the pharaoh and Mr. Kaiba duel?"

Rain leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest. "Well, since I'm positive of how the outcome of this one will be, there's really no point in my going to watch it. I don't know how you manage it Ishizu, the whole knowing what's going to happen thing must get boring after a while, right?"

"Well…I already gave the sennen tauk to the pharaoh, so I don't see quite as much as I used to…I wouldn't say it gets boring…but…it does grow tiresome after a time."

"The only duel I'm determined to be there for is Yami vs. Marik. I have to cheer him on."

"The decision to watch that specific duel has nothing to do with proving a point?" Rain had stood to grab a glass of water, but she stopped, turning back to Ishizu, slightly puzzled.

"A point?"

"That you're not afraid of the man that's stolen my brother's body."

A sour look came upon Rains face, she scowled. "Why should I have to prove it? The bastard would probably just find entertainment in trying to prove that I _am_ scared of him. Besides, he's a thing…not a man."

"Hm…Yes, but I would think you'd want to prove him wrong anyway. It's just something that fits with your personality. Besides, I think you want to prove it to yourself as well Rain."

Rain snorted, "Right." There was silence for a few minutes, but neither woman seemed to mind.

"Do you want to see at least part of the duel? I'm sure it would likely please the pharaoh." Rain grimaced,

"No…I don't want to be around him too much right now."

"Hmmm…Would it bother you if I asked why?" Rain smiled,

"No…not really. You probably noticed my little argument with thin air earlier…and the fact that I was acting like a crazy person. Ishizu nodded slowly,

"Yes, though to me it seemed obvious that you were having a fight with the spirit of the sennen ring. I'm assuming you can see him when he's in spirit form due to the small amount of magical energy in your charm necklace that he…as you said, placed a small piece of his soul into. Am I correct in this assessment?"

"Uh…Yeah, though…he's not there anymore really…I mean, he's still attached to it, and could likely come if I need help or something, but he said I wouldn't be seeing him for a while…so I'm assuming that means he's gone. _Anyway_" Rain took a breath, "I'm pretty sure

Yami knows what's up…he's not stupid so…"

"But weren't you forgiven?"

"Um…For acting like a crazy person, yes. But I know the minute I'm alone with Yami, he's going to go on a rant about my safety and how evil the spirit is and yada yada…" Ishizu smiled softly.

"I'm sure it's not so horrible that he cares for you. Come. I don't think the others will want you to be alone anyway, so lets go watch the duel."

…...

Well, let me know if you like the newest chapter! I adore you all, my dear readers! I'm already working on chapter twelve and now that my computer is working I can actually start writing again! -Cheers- Also, I HAD to keep the artichoke head thing…I don't think Jou calls Marik that in the Japanese version, but I found it wildly entertaining. Anyway, read and review! Luvs you all!


	12. Chapter 12

Hello again folks! Another chapter for you! I hope you like it, cause I had a heck of a time attempting to write it! Let me know what you think, and thank you all who reviewed and whatnot so far, it means a lot to me. -hands out cookies-

Bakura: Alright, she asked me to do the disclaimer…EgyptianSoul.88 doesn't own yugioh or any other things she may use in this fic, but she does own Rain and Anna.

…...

By the time Rain and Ishizu had made their way up to the duel tower, the game between Yami and Kaiba was already in full swing. Rain felt bad, but she couldn't help but lose interest in the duel relatively quickly. Anna was the one that always enjoyed duels. Rain had always been really selective about the duels she paid attention to, back home she'd always loved the magic infused shadow duels, now…not so much. Not when she realized how very real they were, how dangerous things like that could be. Rain found herself reminiscing about old times, days of hanging out with her best friend after school, watching yugioh and getting into silly debates about their favorite characters. Anna had always tried to get Rain to understand why she liked Kaiba so much, she'd also taught Rain how to duel. A fond memory indeed, those were the days… She shook her head, focusing on her surroundings, she sighed. _This duel would be so much better if I didn't actually know how it will end…_ Kaiba was doing the usual, insulting Yami and bragging about how he'd beat him yadda yadda yadda…hm, Anna would kick her if she knew her thoughts…_But Anna's not here…and it's my fault too…I can't think about it, she'll be back when Yami defeats Marik…_Yami wasn't much better that Kaiba in a way, he was still going on about the heart of the cards and whatnot, friendship and of course the ancient past…Rain didn't need the reminder of _that_. Kaiba had to be the biggest skeptic in the universe to not believe any of this stuff yet…He'd _seen_ magic. Rain's mind wandered to Anna again, she missed her. Plus, she was really worried, Bakura may protect her from the creatures in the shadow realm, but who was protecting her from _him_? There was no guarantee that Anna would still be sane when she returned. Rain scowled as she was brought back to the duel in time to see a rather good move from Kaiba, she tried not to look miserable.

"Rain, you ok?" Anzu had made her way over to where Rain had been standing, looking concerned. Rain forced a smile.

"I…Just have a lot on my mind. I miss Anna, you know." Anzu nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Yugi will get her back. Just gotta have faith." Rain nodded sullenly.

"Yeah."

"That creep Marik is staring at you." Rain held back the urge to roll her eyes,

"I know, he's been staring whenever I see him, so I can't say I'm surprised. I wish he'd cut it out, it's annoying."

"Not to mention creepy."

"You have no idea Anzu, just be glad he's not looking at you like that." Rain shuddered, forcing herself not to look over and glare at Marik. Another thought kept appearing at the forefront of her mind. A very unwelcome one. The things that Ishizu had told her, that she prayed with all her soul would be wrong…hells, if they were right she'd _die_ relatively soon, especially if Bakura stuck with his plans for revenge and destruction. Rain _had_ to think of a plan, this wasn't just about saving him anymore, her life was on the line too now. But how on earth was she going to keep him in the world of the living? He was a spirit after all, this wasn't like saving some normal guy, he didn't even have his own body. She cursed under her breathe before focusing on her soul brother's duel once more. This wasn't the time to be thinking about that, after the tournament she'd do some serious research. Maybe find…something…anything that could help.

It wasn't much longer before the duel had ended and they were told the next duel would begin in an hour, they were herded to the buffet area and told to enjoy the break. Rain prayed that no one had realized that she hadn't really been paying attention to that duel…though even if they had noticed, Rain figured they couldn't get mad at her for it. Still, she felt bad. Rain shrugged off the guilty feeling, _I was there…besides, the only duel I have to be there to witness is the one up next._ Rain walked up to the table with the food on it after seeing Marik leering her way, _I have this feeling that I'm gonna need my strength._

…...

Meanwhile, in the shadow realm…

Anna wished she knew how Rain was doing, she walked at Ryo's side through the drifting darkness that made up the shadow realm, shivering in the bone numbing cold and trying to keep herself moving lest the despair of where she was truly settled in. Ryo glanced at her,

"Hey Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder how we can walk around the shadow realm like this? You'd think that shadows wouldn't be able to support weight, but it feels like a solid surface."

Anna stared at Ryo, a strange look crossing her face,

"I uh…never really thought about it before actually, mister random. I suppose this place doesn't obey the normal rules though, all sorts of strange things can be possible around here."

"Hmmm…" There was a small silence, then Ryo spoke again. "I truly hope we get out of here soon, I tend to end up spending time in the shadow realm far too often. I don't like it."

"I don't think anyone likes it here Ryo."

"Bakura seems to." They both glanced at the figure walking a short distance in front of them, ignoring the conversation. Anna knew he was scowling without looking at his face. He only seemed to have three facial expressions where she and Ryo were concerned in her opinion. Smirk, scowl, and glare. That was as much as she ever saw on his face, at this point Anna wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or relieved by it. The guy was just so damn gloomy…not to mention _creepy_…ugh. She missed Seto. She'd actually enjoyed _his_ company, even got a smile out of him ever now and then. Kaiba was the type to keep his feelings inside, but at least he was _alive_ and _human_.

"I wonder how Rain's doing…" Anna muttered quietly.

" Well, hopefully we'll see her soon." Ryo frowned at Anna's expression. "So, what's your world like?" He noticed she brightened slightly at the question, and could have sworn Bakura's head tilted their way.

"Well, we don't have magic…Nothing like the shadow realm, or the sennen items. Um…Virtual technology isn't nearly as advanced and duel monsters is just a card game based on…well, _this_ world." Anna paused, glancing at Bakura's back. " I suppose there are ghosts there too…but more in the haunted house weird stuff happening sense. Nothing at all like Bakura….or the pharoah for that matter."

Ryo's brow furrowed.

"It sounds…a lot safer."

"Well, we certainly don't have super villains out to take over or destroy the world with some sort of immense magical power…but that doesn't make it safe. We have war, terrorism, criminals, and all sorts of bad things. There's just no magic in the equation. Thank god for that."

"Hmmm…" Ryo smiled, momentarily dazzling Anna. "Tell me more Anna! It'll help keep our minds off the cold." Anna nodded, shivering slightly.

"Okay."

…...

Rain leaned against the wall, eyeing the buffet table while contemplating an attempt to go eat a little more. She'd had a sandwich, but was still a little hungry. She jumped when Yugi suddenly popped up beside her.

Rain!"

"Gah! Yugi! Uh…hi." She moved towards the table, "I'm gonna…go get more food."

"Yami really wants to talk to you Rain." She stopped, shoulders sagging slightly.

"Okay…I suppose I can't avoid it forever." With that, Yugi gave a cute little grin and gave Yami control, Rain immediately felt uneasy under his crimson gaze. She felt almost as though she was a little kid that had gotten caught doing something wrong.

"Rain, I'm very concerned about you right now."

"I gathered that."

"Has Bakura somehow…_linked_ himself to you?"

"You certainly cut right to the chase, don't you dear brother of mine." Rain closed her eyes and took a breath as a feeling of acute sadness went through her. " According to Ishizu, who as you know, sees just about everything, we're already linked pretty thoroughly. He's my soul mate…but it goes a hell of a lot deeper than that." Rain sighed, " And he left a piece of himself with me to try and keep an eye on me while he's gone. Apparently he prepares for everything. Part of him has been with me in a way, ever since he was defeated by Marik in a duel." She hadn't wanted Yami to know, now he'd just get angry. Rain closed her eyes, waiting…

" He…I'm glad you weren't completely alone then…did he…help you?" Rain's eyes shot open, she blinked.

"Yeah…he told me how to use my power to escape Marik. Um…You aren't mad at me?" Yami smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No…I'm glad you told me though, I know you didn't want to…He and I are enemies and probably always will be, but if thousands of years never lessened your love for him, what makes me think I could? I'm just glad he helped you when I couldn't."

"I might as well tell you the rest then."

"There's more?"

"Yeah…I have to tell someone, and Bakura's out of the question. If Ishizu is right, my life force is somehow intertwined with his. If he dies, I'd follow shortly after. I wouldn't have perished so easily in the past if he hadn't been sealed away. I figure it weakened me, so with Marik's attack, then having a child…I was done for." Yami gaped like a fish for a moment,

"W-What? But…Isn't he already…"

"He still exists in this world, this plane of reality…but if he goes to…some sort of afterlife, truly dies, my life will begin to fade away and I'll die slowly." Tears began to prick at the corners of Rain's vision, but she blinked them away. Yami put an arm around her.

"Is this speculation or a vision?"

"A little of both I think." He nodded.

"If it's true, I'll try my best to help you Rain. I'll do what I can to keep you alive." Rain shook her head,

"Yami, don't make promises you probably won't be able to keep. You don't need to worry about me though, I'll figure something out. Something. Hell, I'll petition the gods if I have to, I'll defy my fate." She didn't say that she planned to keep Bakura around somehow, knowing Yami would never approve of that.

"Hey Rain." Anzu seemed to pop out of nowhere, jeez, people had to stop _doing_ that. Rain was thankful for the distraction though, she didn't want to keep up this conversation with Yami as the look on his face said he had more to talk about. Rain turned and smiled at the usually peppy girl who was looking distinctly gloomy. Rain couldn't blame her for that.

"Hey Anzu."

"D-Do you miss your world?" Rain blinked, well, that was an unexpected question.

"Um…well, I have parents and friends over there…so yeah, I do."

"Didn't you figure out how to get back though?"

"Um, Anzu, where exactly are you going with this?" Anzu seemed to squirm a little under Rain's questioning gaze.

"I'm just a little curious I guess. I mean, I think you're an awesome friend and everything but I can't help but wonder why you're still here." Rain tried not to look irritated. _Have you been paying attention at all Anzu? Even as someone on the sidelines on all this you HAVE to see why I'm still here. Are you brain-dead?_ Rain didn't let her angry thoughts color her voice.

"Well, If _you_ had a best friend stuck in the shadow realm, along with others you care about, would you just run off and leave them there?" Rain figured that was a good enough answer. Anzu looked bashful for a moment before responding.

"Agh, sorry Rain. I didn't think before speaking."

"That's ok." Rain was about to wander off when Anzu opened her mouth again. _Damnit I'm not in the mood for this._

"After you get Anna back, are you guys going back to your realm?" Rain couldn't help but give an exasperated sigh. She liked Anzu, she really did…but what the hell?

"Do you _want_ me to leave or something? Cause you're really acting like it."

Anzu blushed, then shook her head violently.

"No no no, that's not it at all! I'm just…well, I want to get our minds off the recent events. Know what I mean?" Rain rolled her eyes.

"Not doing a very good job of it. Your topic of choice didn't make much sense if that's what you were going for." Anzu blushed again, her bangs hiding her eyes.

"Sorry Rain." Rain sighed again, the poor girl looked like she was about to cry,

"It's all good Anzu, I didn't mean to sound so snappy, we're all on edge."

"I'm really sorry…"

"Oh, cut it out. It's not that big of a deal. Hells, if you want a reminder as to why I'm here I'll tell you. I can't remember how much you've been told about my situation, my short term memory sucks, anyway…Even after I get Anna back I won't be going anywhere. There is a lot I still have to do, besides that…Technically I belong here. I'll go back to visit once in a while, but I've come to term with the facts." At Anzu's questioning gaze, Rain continued.

"I'm sure you remember I have a past life here, my soul is from this world, if that's not proof enough, the spirit of the sennen ring is my soul mate whether I like it or not, I love him. Oh, and that whole deal with being part of this whole power of balance crap."

"Ah…yes, that. I remember, I couldn't believe you were permanently attached to an evil spirit."

"Hey, you don't know his story."

"Tell me then?"

"It's not mine to tell. Just remember, villains are created, not born." Anzu seemed to notice the look on Rain's face, she leaned forward.

"Rain, are you alright?"

"No…But there's not much I can do about it." Rain's thoughts drifted towards her grim forecast of the future before shifting to the upcoming duel between her soul brother and Marik. Anzu laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll always be here if you need someone to talk to, ok? I'll never know exactly how you feel but I may be able to help you."

Rain blinked in surprise, then grinned widely, Anzu really wasn't half bad, she was a sweet girl. Too sweet sometimes, but that was alright.

"Anzu, you're a good person. Thank you." Rain moved to leave the room again,

"Rain! We still need to finish our talk." Rain groaned inwardly as Yami grabbed her arm, making her follow him to a quiet corner of the room.

"Yami, there's not much left to talk about." He gave her the Oh-yes-there-is look, to which Rain rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine then. What _else_."

"I don't want you to watch the duel." Rain took a moment to process what he said. Of all things, she hadn't been expecting _that_.

"Er, what?"

"You heard me. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yami, I have to be there."

"No you don't. You can watch from B-Ryo's room." Rain noticed how he wouldn't say Bakura. She took a deep breath, then answered with anger evident in her voice.

"Pharoah, there is no way in hell I'm staying away. What are you scared of anyway? You're the one dueling."

"What am I scared of? Rain, he could hurt you whether you're the one dueling or not! He's going to take us to the shadow realm, anything is possible and I'm worried."

"He could do something to any of the other people that will be in attendance."

Yami growled, he actually _growled_. "You're not coming and that's final!" Rain stared, trying to keep her anger under control so she didn't end up hitting him….or burning him for that matter.

"What makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

"I'm older than you."

Yeah, so? The thief king can't get me to obey him if I have my mind set on something, even at the risk of pissing him off and getting myself stuck in the shadow realm. You, dear brother, are less dangerous to my health so you'll have to think of a better reason than _that_." She crossed her arms and gave him a challenging glare, blue eyes narrowed. Yami looked angry, then lost, then upset, before settling for exasperated.

"Can we at least compromise?"

"I suppose I can give you that much, how about I steal the sennen ring from Marik's room while you are starting the duel, then come watch after I'm done?" Rain smirked.

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"That's too dangerous!"

"You aren't going to win this, mister protective."

"You've been hurt so many times already Rain, I don't want you to go through any more pain if I can help it." Rain's anger instantly evaporated at that, she nearly burst into tears.

"Oh Yami, you can't protect me from my life. If I'm in for more pain, I can fight my way through it, as soon as Anna comes back she can help me…but you should know I can't hide from fate." She hugged him, "You're such a sweetie." He hugged her back,

"I'm just so worried, that's all. I feel that I have to make up for all the time I can't remember. All the times I couldn't protect you. I wish you didn't attract so much attention. First that slippery thief, then Marik."

"…" Rain chose not to reply to that. Perhaps the best course of action where Bakura was concerned was to not talk about it. Or maybe pretending to take Yami's advice to avoid him would do the trick, hell, she could even try it just to see how long it could be done. Rain finally escaped Yami, she wandered aimlessly for a moment, deep in thought. _Well, Bakura does kinda deserve a bit of punishment for trying to punish me, not to mention the threats and irritating attitude of his…hmmm…perhaps when this thing with Marik is over, I'll take Anna home to visit mom and dad…not to mention her mom. I wonder what they told her? I'll tell Yugi and Yami if I do go…but that's it. Unlike me, Bakura actually does need to be taught a lesson. I know he'll be either really pissed at me, or he won't give a damn._

"**Attention duelists, the next round of the finals will commence in fifteen minutes, please make your way to the duel platform at the top of the duel tower."**

"Huh?" Rain glanced at the intercom, then shrugged, going into the washroom. She washed her hands and face, trying not to look at her reflection. It was hard, being reminded of Marik whenever she looked in a mirror. She jumped in surprise when the door to the washroom was thrown open, then stared with wide eyes. Speak of the devil.

"Surprised my dear?" Marik drawled, Rain wrinkled her nose at him.

"Uh, yeah. This is the girls washroom, yours is next door. Are you illiterate?"

He laughed at her, then shook his head.

"Oh, I know that you silly girl. I just figured I'd do you a bit of service before my duel with the pharaoh." Rain glared at him.

"A service? Are you on drugs? Cause it would certainly explain a lot." he took a step towards her, then another as she backed into the sink behind her. When he raised the sennen rod in her direction, Rain felt her fear level spike, she glared warily. Marik smirked.

"You get to play a part in my duel with your precious brother, I figured I'd let you know beforehand so it won't give you too much of a shock."

"Do I have a choice about this?"

"Hm…no I don't believe you do. Too bad sweetheart. So very sad. I won't let it kill you, well…unless you're too weak to handle it. I promise, and I _do _keep my promises." Rain gripped the sink behind her, glaring.

"I'm getting really sick of all these bad guy speeches. They annoy me. If I'm not watching the duel how exactly do you plan on including me in your sick twisted designs?"

"You think you have to be watching to be part of my shadow game?" He muttered something under his breath and suddenly the rod glowed and Rain was struck in the chest by a beam of light. She groaned in pain as it seared through her body, but stood her ground as the light seemed to fade. Rain felt a little bit woozy, but when she glanced down to check for anything, there didn't seem to be a change that she could see or feel.

"What the hell did you just do to me?"

Marik didn't answer, he chuckled. "Now, you'll play your part no matter where you are. Interesting, no?"

"Not really. Whatever you did won't work." Marik merely tilted his head to the side with a sick grin, before giving a wave and walking away. It took Rain a few minutes to collect herself after the rather baffling encounter. She couldn't think of how he may tie her to the duel, didn't want to think of the possibilities she now faced.

After a few minutes, Rain found herself wandering down the hall, in the opposite direction of the duel that was probably just starting. _It was so much nicer back when this was an anime I was interested in._ She found herself thinking, as she drifted closer to the door to Marik's room. She'd decided in a split second that she would try to steal the ring for sure now, she felt it was her right to hold onto it for now at least. _Marik was cool back then…now I know he's far worse than originally portrayed. Everything else…it's still so unreal to me. Hmmm…I wonder if Bakura would find me planning to steal a sennen item entertaining. Well, random thought. Ah, there's the door._" Rain glared at the lock for a moment, wondering how she'd get through it. She didn't have Marik's keycard…so she'd just have to break it and apologize to Mr. Kaiba later. But how would she break it? A light bulb went off in her head. _Duh, use the kick ass magic powers you've apparently always had. I'm an idiot._

"Alright, I think I'll use fire." Rain leaned forward and pointed a finger at the lock, then focused inward, letting only a tiny amount of flame shoot from her pointer finger, straight at the locking mechanism. After a few agonizing minutes, she switched to water to cool it down before pushing with all her might on the door. It didn't resist much and Rain went flying inside, stumbling into a small coffee table in the middle of the room. She felt embarrassment for a moment, before realizing she was the only one to witness her clumsiness. A faint blush crossed Rain's features, she shook her head. _I have work to do._

With the others, at the duel arena…

After everyone had made their way to their respective positions, and Kaiba had randomly given Yugi an important magic card that could decide the duel, after much talk and shuffling, Roland stepped forward and announced the duel to commence.

Marik laughed, licking the sennen rod. "Let the fun begin!" With that, darkness engulfed the duel tower and the gang realized this was to be another shadow game.

"Another shadow game!" Yami exclaimed, to which Marik chuckled.

"This will be a little different from the others you have witnessed thus far pharaoh. I've thrown in a few interesting twists _just_ for you." Marik stuck his tongue out, veins covering his face as Mai, still imprisoned in an hourglass, appeared from the swirling darkness above the duel. She was nearly covered in sand. "By the time this duel ends, your friend Mai will be gone forever!"

"I won't let this madness continue!" Yami cried out, Marik chuckled again.

"Oh, but she's not the only one in danger. Here is another surprise, dear pharaoh!" With a wave of his arm, Yugi and Malik appeared, wrists and ankles bound in shadows, dangling on respective sides of the field next to their dueling counterparts.

"Leave Yugi out of this!" Yami shouted, after Marik told him if he lost the duel, Yugi would be sent to the shadow realm. Marik pointed out his weaker half was involved as well.

I go first." Marik drew his cards. Then paused, as thou remembering something. "Oh, one more thing pharaoh. One more little twist. Any time either of us receives damage to our life points, dear little Rain will feel the pain of the attack. It will drain her life force, and if she's not strong enough, she may…perish." He shrugged. "A minor detail I'm sure."

"No…not her. She…she's not even here!" At Yami's exclamation, Marik cocked a brow.

"And that matters why?" Marik then played vampiric leech, which could do a direct attack on Yami's life points, Yugi screamed as a piece of him was taken by shadows.

Back with Rain…

Rain had just finished rummaging through a drawer and had her prize clutched in her hands when the wave of pain came out of nowhere, knocking her to her knees, she dropped the sennen ring in shock as her back arched, crippling pain shooting throughout her being.

"GYAAAAAA!" Rain screamed, breathing hard, as the pain faded. She moved to stand up after a moment, but nearly fell over. _Wha-What the hell just happened to me?_ She remembered the incident with Marik in the bathroom after a minute or two of bewilderment.

"Marik…bastard…this must be connected to the duel…I…wish I knew why I'm so weak all the sudden…" Rain bent down to pick the sennen ring up of the floor with shaking hands, she dusted it off. _Sorry, didn't mean to drop it…oh yeah, Bakura's not here so much right now…_ Rain left the room, trying to hurry up to the duel arena. She didn't like being blind to what was harming her, and she had to find out exactly what Marik was planning on putting her through. Most of her strength returned to her and she was at the duel arena within a few minutes. At the top of the stairs Rain heard Marik shouting out an attack, seconds later, she was hit with crippling pain once more, she covered her mouth to muffle her yelp, leaning against the wall to support herself. Rain felt like she'd just run a marathon, she looked at the ring in her hands and sighed, forcing her arms to work, she hung it from her neck and hid it beneath her shirt, stepping out from where she'd been hidden in shadow with a hand clutched over her wildly beating heart. Marik noticed her first.

"Rain, so nice of you to join us! Are you feeling well? You look a little pale!" He laughed. Rain glared at him as all other eyes swiveled in her direction.

"What in hell did you do to me Marik?"

"Oh, the pain you were feeling? Is that what you're talking about?"

"Marik…just fucking tell me."

"Well, since you asked nicely…You're connected to both myself, and your brother. Any time we receive damage, you feel it. It's draining your life force, I'm sure you've noticed."

"Your…insane."

"I know."

"Rain! Are you alright?" Yami and the others hollered, Rain nodded slowly, making her way over to the rest of the spectators while eyeing the shadow game setup with distaste. She rolled her shoulders, determined to make it through the duel for her brother's sake.

"Let the duel continue." Marik drawled, veins popping out all over his face. _Ew_…Rain watched as Yami drew, then Marik activated a trap, then Yami countered and stole Marik's monster reborn, using it to ressurrect his own monster. Apparently Marik had been about to summon Ra with that card. _Well, good job Yami…but he doesn't seem too fazed so he obviously has something else up his sleeve. If only I could remember what._

After a few more turns, where no one lost life points, thank god. Yami was able to summon one of his god cards, Slifer the sky dragon appeared, in all his impressive glory, letting loose a roar. Rain blinked at it, unable to get over how big and real it seemed from this perspective. At the last moment, after Yami had commanded slifer to attack with six thousand attack points, Marik flipped his Dark spell regeneration card which, he explained, allowed him to move any magic card from his graveyard back to the field. Rain cringed as he brought back monster reborn and used it to summon Ra, causing Slifer's attack to bounce harmlessly away. Marik cackled insanely.

"Thanks to the wrath of Ra, little Yugi will be consumed by darkness and ultimate power will be mine!"

"Keep dreaming Marik" Rain grumbled, but was unheard, Jou and Anzu merely glanced her way, concerned and obviously afraid.

"He's going to put it in phoenix mode." Jou said, seconds before Marik announced the move.

"I pay 1000 life points to activate my phoenix." Marik grinned at Rain, "Prepare yourself my dear." Was all he said before using Ra to destroy Slifer. Rain tried to hold back her scream of agony as his thousand life points, and part of Malik's arm faded. It felt like Ra's fire was moving through her body as Rain fell, only to be caught by Jou. She wimpered slightly after the pain faded, and the weakness set in. She could feel the sweat running down her brow as she struggled to stay conscious this time around.

"Rain! Are you alright?" Yami and the others called out, even Yugi. Rain groaned,

"I-I'm fine, and Yugi. You're in worse shape than I am, so don't worry about me, you just try to stay strong yourself. That was just…a really big hit. Thanks for catching me Jou…glad I didn't end up on the floor. I…Think I can stand on my own now." Jou released her, worry creasing his brow. Rain smiled at him, then turned back to Yami.

"Kick his ass Yami. Stay strong." There was a snort from Marik.

"Are the pep talks done now?" Rain didn't even look at him, Yami nodded her way before continuing his duel. Ra vanished from the field, as it was summoned using monster reborn, but Marik laughed, promising much more pain and suffering to come. Marik then activated another trap card, called zombies jewel, which allowed him to take his opponents magic card from the graveyard.

"Hahahaha, do you know which one I'll be taking off your hands?" Rain rolled her eyes, she knew this. Along with anyone with a brain. Monster reborn, obviously. Yami was allowed to draw. Rain watched his face, hoping for a sign that he had the right card to save the duel. If he didn't, then they would be doomed on the next turn…when Marik would summon Ra once more and use the special ability one-turn-kill. She knew how things were supposed to go…but what if it had changed? What would happen then? Rain shook her head, no. This would stay the same, if anything. Rain noticed Marik was ranting about how he'd be sending them to the shadows, he then told Yami he wanted to show him something and they were all shown a vision of Bakura's demise at the hands of Ra. Rain hated seeing it again, she felt the metal of the sennen ring against her chest and found comfort in the fact that she had it and Marik didn't.

"When you lose in the next turn pharaoh, I will take your sennen puzzle and your sister…ruling the world as I see fit! Rain shuddered, Yami then drew his card. Rain was the only one unsurprised when he didn't even look at the card, merely placing it facedown in his duel disk and ending his turn. _Yes! _Rain cheered mentally. _That must be it!_

"What is he doing?"

"I've never seen him do something like that! He doesn't even know what he drew!"

"What is he thinking?" The others were all freaking out in a way, Rain shushed them and they stared at her, questions in their eyes. Rain's eyes didn't leave the duel.

"Trust him guys. He knows what he's doing. Just be quiet and watch." They stopped talking at hearing her quiet command. Jou nodded then turned his gaze to the field.

_Bakura? If you can hear me, whatever you're doing. I-I'm not sure I'll survive the hit from this next turn in the duel. Marik tied my life force to their life points, so no matter what…I take damage. So if I don't live through this…can you hear me?_

Rain heard no response, she sighed, resigning herself to the pain she'd feel any moment now. Marik grinned widely, after the shock of Yami randomly setting that card on the field wore off.

"Pharaoh, I believe the impending threat of the shadow realm has clouded your mind."

"You wouldn't understand this Marik. Just take your turn."

"Well, if your in a hurry." Marik's tongue flicked out, Rain masked her disgust in a glare, as Marik brought Ra back from the grave using monster reborn once more. Then he explained that he would use Ra's most destructive ability to take the pharaoh out forever. Yami and the others watched in astonishment as Malik's body slowly began to fade into the darkness. Marik laughed and said he was converting his life points into Ra's attack points, he made eye contact with Rain as he said this. Rain glared at him, bracing for the pain moments before it came. Another scream tore it's way from Rain's throat as her body was lashed with wave after wave of pain. It took over a minute for it to end, Rain was left panting on her hands and knees, staring at the ground as tears formed and fell from her tormented eyes. Rain almost collapsed the rest of the way to the floor but forced herself to sit up, wrapping her shaking arms around her torso. She felt like she had to force herself to stay awake, Jou laid a hand on her shoulder.

"J-Jou…don't let me…fall…asleep ok? If I…do….I won't…be able to…have the…strength to get…back up." Rain managed to speak through her gasps for air. She felt as though all her energy had been pulled from her body, as though her vision and all her sensed were confused, unable to process properly from whatever reason. She forced herself to look up, to watch the duel as long as she could…anything to keep her from passing out. Her body was beginning to feel numb. _Not good Rain, this isn't good…I have to fight the weakness…refuse to be weak…_ After another moment, Rain got to her feet, leaning heavily on Jou and Honda. She smiled in thanks to them.

"I will be strong guys, I'll be ok…with your help."

"How touching." Marik called out, Rain didn't respond, she just gave Yami a thumbs up. Marik rolled his eyes. "Now, to continue this." After Marik sacrificed his other monster on the field to give more strength to Ra, He attacked. To Kaiba's surprise, Yami flipped feind sanctuary…the card Kaiba had given him. The card gave Yami a fiend token that was to be attacked by the god card instead, but marik found a way out of it. Rain scowled as Marik used de-fusion, making Ra's attack points his life points once more. The others all groaned, except for Rain. She'd known this was going to happen unfortunately. Would she even last the rest of the duel?

"You'll have to pay 1000 life points to keep that token on the field Pharaoh. Prepared for the consequences?" Yami looked at Yugi, who nodded.

"Do whatever it takes Yami." He looked at Rain next.

"Can you handle it Rain?" She nodded.

"I can." _I have to._ Yami sighed as his life points went down by a thousand. Rain swallowed her scream this time, and the guys held her up as her whole body tensed, then went limp.

"Oh…that…was…fun." She whispered. Honda and Jou just shook their heads, helpless to do much to help anyone in a shadow game. Rain watched through her blurry vision as Yami was able to summon his second Egyptian god, Obelisk the tormenter. Rain braced herself as Yam attacked Marik directly with the god card, making Marik lose 4000 life points, which brought him down to seven hundred left. Rain's consciousness fled from the pain this time, she slumped and Jou lowered her unconscious form onto the ground gently, then checked her pulse. He nodded slowly after a moment or two, making the others sigh in relief. Yami stared down at her with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry Rain, please stay strong."

"She'll live pharaoh. If it makes you feel any better. I'll take good care of her after I destroy you." Marik said, looking very deranged as he stood back up, recovering from being struck down by a god. He cackled, Yami looked over at him apprehensively.

"Yugi doesn't look so good…"

"What does he have to be worried about? He's almost won!" Jou got whacked in the head for that one. Anzu gave him a look.

"Keep an eye on Rain Jou."

"I am, I am."

"Good."

"Impressive pharaoh, but it will take more than that to keep me down. It's really my other half that suffers anyway. I thought you were supposed to _save _mankind, not destroy it!" Marik smirked, "To think he was once your loyal servant. It's nice to see how he's being repaid by his exalted king!" Marik cackled some more. "You should feel honored, of all the lives I've destroyed, yours has been by far the most amusing…and the worst is yet ahead!"

He didn't seem to notice that yami had been conversing with Yugi for half his little speech.

Rain woke a number of turns later, just in time to hear Marik telling Yami that it would be over soon, that he'd be summoning Ra again. She groaned, pushing herself off the ground, she was wobbly…but better than before. The others tried to get her to lay down and rest more, but Rain shook them off.

"I'll be fine. Let me watch this." Rain looked at the field, noticing Marik's Egyptian god slime copy of the original, and Yami's card were still on the field. She scowled at Marik taunted Yami, telling him that even if he was able to destroy the slime token, he wouldn't be able to attack because it would just destroy Malik. At that, Rain realized what was left of Malik was now awake. Her eyes widened as he told Yami that he had to do what he could, and that he'd already accepted the fact that he was destined to wander the shadows forever. Rain glared at Marik.

"Bastard, coward! Asshole!" She slung insults out, but the jerk just ignored her with a smirk on his arrogant face. _I hope the shadows eat him alive._ She looked at poor Malik. _hang on…just hang on…you don't deserve this._

Marik place another monster on the field, it's special effect gave it the ability to take 300 of Yami's life points for every turn it was left on the fiend, he tried to destroy it but Marik played a card that deflected all attacks to his slime token, which was as strong as Obylisk and couldn't seem to be destroyed….thus Yami's life points took more of a beating. Rain forced herself to endure through the pain, which she did surprisingly well, _I guess I'm stronger than I thought…_Just then Anzu's form went rigid. Rain's eyes widened as she realized that Malik's spirit still was with her. All eyes were drawn her way as Anzu began to speak.

"Yugi, you need to defeat my dark side at all costs! Don't worry about harming me. I'm already prepared to die." Jou shook her by the shoulders.

"Anzu! Anzu, snap out of it!"

"There's no time! Yugi, destroy my dark side! Let the shadows take me! My family and I have always been charged with protecting the pharaohs' tomb, I've always resented it! My dark side was formed of my own anger! Now he must be destroyed, and I with him!"

"Mali! He existed before! Don't blame his existence on yourself!" Rain tried to yell, Malik, still in anzu's body turned to her.

"He's still part of me, therefore my responsibility."

"How pathetic! You serve him your whole life and now you ask forgiveness? It's a bit late for that! You're a mere shadow of who you once were, and you could never defeat me!"\

Jou and the others crowded around Anzu, finally realizing that she was under Malik's control and Ishizu ran over to them as well, pleading with her brother not to sacrifice himself.

"I'm sorry Ishizu, there's no other way." He/She called out to Yami, "Take out my dark side pharaoh! You have to, and if destroying him means to destroy me as well, then so be it!"

Rain felt tears make trails down her cheeks. She'd watched this on TV in her world…but being here, feeling the desperation personally…it was so hard. What was going on was truly terrible. Her heart was aching for Malik and Ishizu.

"This is all just a waste of time. There's no way I'll lose!" Marik crowed as he drew his next card. He cackled again, "Now I'll play mining for magical stones! It allows me to discard two cards in order to transfer one magic card from the grave to my hand. In one more turn, I'll bring back the winged dragon of Ra!" More veins appeared on Marik's face as he laughed.

"You're finished! Victory will be mine!" Rain couldn't help but stare at all those veins. _He's gonna pop a blood vessel_…her eyes swiveled to Yami, who looked grim…but determined. He hadn't lost yet. Marik summoned swallowtail spike lizard in defense position, then explained that every turn the lizard raised his life points by 1000." After his move, Yami seemed to be in deep thought, Rain sighed, barely listening to the other's talk to Malik, whole left Anzu's body after Jou told him it was all his fault that they were going through this. To which Malik agreed.

"Well, are you going to make your move pharaoh? It's your turn!" Rain wished she was allowed to throw a fireball at Marik, but she resisted the seemingly continual urge to kill the bastard. _It's Malik's body…It's Malik's body…don't destroy it…jeez, hard to do nothing._ Yami placed one monster in defence mode, ending his turn. Rain grimaced as he lost three hundred more life points due to Marik's monster's special ability…Though three hundred life points didn't seem to hurt as much as they had in the beginning. Probably because she'd felt far worse at this point. Yami glanced over at Yugi when he saw that she seemed to be ok.

"I won't let you fade away Yugi."

"You won't have a choice pharaoh, he'll be gone very soon!" Marik shouted. He summoned Ra once again, then sacrificed 1000 life points to use phoenix mode to destroy obelisk. Rain shuddered as she was wracked with more pain. Joe had to support her once more, as Rain was taken by a sudden coughing fit. She almost panicked when she saw that she'd coughed up blood. Jou shot her a worried glance.

"Don't say anything Jou."

"…fine…" Rain nodded, then looked back at the duel. Yami had used his own monster reborn to summon slifer at the last moment to shield Obylisk. It was a supurb move. It got Yami through a little longer. Marik chuckled as Ra appeared above them as a golden sphere.

"Ra's not quite really to attack again, which effect should I use…hmmm…" He began to say the chant to release Ra, making the dragon spread out to his full glory. Rain couldn't stop her wimper as Marik announced he was yet again sacrificing his life points, all but one, to become one with the monster. _I'm not gonna live through this…I love you Baku- _Rain's thoughts were cut off as the now familiar burning pain shot through her tortured body once more, reducing her to a barely conscious mess on the floor, she somehow managed to stay awake long enough to hear Yami use a card called soul taker, to sacrifice Marik's god slime to use Obelisks ultimate power, one that gave the god infinite attack strength. Rain forced herself to her hands and knees, coughing up more blood as she did so. She forced herself to watch, she had to see Marik's demise for herself…no matter how hurt she was. It was just something she had to do. Ra and Obelisk clashed, but in the end…Ra still stood. Rain saw the card Marik had used, called class system…now Ra could only be destroyed by a monster with more stars than it had. Rain couldn't think of anything that could defeat it. Marik and Ra attacked Yami, but he had a magic card of his own, another that he could use to escape Ra's attack…Giving him one more turn to formulate a plan. Unfortunately, thanks to his escape, he no longer had a god card on the field. He'd had to sacrifice all but dark magician girl.

"You were a fool to sacrifice Obylisk. Without a god you have nothing." Marik…spouting off again. Rain would have groaned if she wasn't so focused on staying alive.

"You're wrong. I still have all my friends supporting me, and the heart of the cards to give me strength." Yami managed to special summon dark magician onto the field, then he held up another card. " I play Ragnarok, which can only be used when there are two spell casters on the field. This gives it the ability to destroy all of the cards on your side of the field which includes Ra…You are combined with Ra so you will be destroyed as well."

"But are you willing to sacrifice Malik along with me? For when he I go, so does he!" Yami hesitated at that. Marik continued. "Go ahead, attack! Send an innocent soul to hell along with me! Break your promise to Ishizu!"

"Coward." Rain tried to yell, but it only came out a hoarse whisper. She coughed again, but was able to stay conscious. Rain saw Rishid making his way towards them shakily. Marik noticed as well and taunted him.

"We were doing just fine before you showed up!"

"Release Master Malik."

"You're too late, this is my body now!" Rishid tried to talk more but Marik used the sennen rod to throw the man against the wall, Rishid continued to try to contact Malik. After a few tries, Marik clutched his face in his hands, and the piece of Malik that had been left behind now showed up on Marik's face.

"Attack me now pharoah! I can't hold him back for long!"

"I can't!" Yami yelled,

"Do it!"

"It's too risky! What if we send Malik to the shadow realm too!" Yugi cried out, Yami shook his head.

"We have no choice, It must be done." With that, Yami used Ragnarok, there was an amazing display of all his monsters coming to his aid to destroy Marik and Ra. When the smoke cleared, everyone cheered when they saw Malik standing there, trembling. Well, everyone but Rain cheered…She just smiled weakly. _I knew he'd be ok._ She managed to get into an almost sitting position, then tried to stand, Jou appeared at her side with a smile and picked her up, much to her surprise.

"Y-You didn't have to do that Jou."

"Don't worry about it Rain."

"You're a good friend."

They watched as Malik fully apologized to Yami, before silencing his dark half forever by forfeiting the duel. Rain gave a big inward cheer. _He's gone…thank the gods…_What was left of the shadow game faded, though Rain's strength had yet to return. She sighed. _I suppose since it was my life force, not just illusions…I'm going to have actual injuries from this…wonderful._ Yugi was declared the winner of the tournament and everyone made their way to where he was standing. Rain struggled to stay conscious for a little longer.

"Hey brother of mine." She whispered to Yami, he took her hand.

"I'm so sorry Rain. Are you…ok?"

"I think…I just need sleep. Good job, kay? You were awesome." Malik had come closer after apologizing to his sister, Yami moved slightly out of the way. Rain noticed tears in Malik's eyes.

"I…don't think I could ever express how sorry I am for all that's happened to you…I'm so sorry."

"Malik?"

"Yes?"

"It's not all your fault. _You_ didn't put me through hell. _Marik_ did. You…are still my friend, ok?"

Marik just stared in response. Yami chuckled,

"She's like that." Was all Rain heard before she fell blissfully into unconsciousness.

…...

Gah! I know this chapter wasn't that great, I skipped over most of the duels because I have a hard time writing them, so if it seems like it doesn't flow properly Sorry! The next chapter will be WAY better! Promise! And Bakura, Anna, and Ryo will be back! YAY!


	13. Chapter 13

Alright! I'm back! Been really busy lately but I think I should have enough time to write more often now ^^ Anyway, I don't own Yugioh, never will unless I become a billionaire…which is highly unlikely… I also thank everyone who took the time to review this story, again, it means a lot to me. ahem, anyway…on with the chapter!

…...

It was three full days before Rain came to. She woke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor and several aches and pains from her healing body. She groaned, mentally praying the sledgehammer in her head would stop smashing against her skull. Opening her eyes she took in the room. _Ok…I'm obviously not in a hospital, because this looks like a freaking hotel room…a fancy one at that…but how does that explain the IV drip attached to me? Ok…there's a TV….a couple chairs…a desk…Bakura…wait…what?_

"Ummm…Ryo?" Rain winced as she tried to turn towards the chair he was sitting on in the corner of the room. The young man smiled softly at her.

"Hey, You're awake. We were all getting quite concerned about you." Rain put a hand to her forehead.

"How long was I out?" Her throat felt like sandpaper. She grimaced slightly at the feeling. Ryo gave her a sympathetic look before grabbing a bottle of water from a small table and handing it to her. Rain gaped for a moment before taking it and taking a sip, she sighed in relief.

"How did you know what I needed?" The soft spoken brit gave her a sheepish look.

"I've been in the same sort of…position…a number of times." Rain frowned,

"Ah…the spirit tends to forget you have needs too doesn't he…" He said nothing for a moment before sitting back down on the chair.

"Three days."

"Huh?"

"You've been unconscious for three days." At the questioning look Rain shot him Ryo continued. "After we got back to Domino Kaiba agreed to put you in his private medical centre. The others figured that would be better than a hospital because technically you don't exist here and we didn't want people that would ask questions looking after you…besides that you weren't suffering from any illness the doctors could understand this was the most logical place to put you until you recovered as the people that work here are sworn to a secrecy agreement of some sort. This is actually part of the Kaiba mansion." Rain nodded,

"I'm assuming it took some persuasion to allow this."

"Anna pretty much forced him." Ryo smiled at that. Rain gave a little gasp.

"Anna! Is she ok?" Ryo's smile widened.

"Yes, she's fine. She's a very interesting girl, we kept each other company in the shadow realm…" Rain smiled.

"Yeah, she's awesome. I'm glad she had someone. I think if she'd been alone there she would have gone insane." It was then Rain noticed that she was wearing some sort of hospital gown…and the sennen ring was no longer around her neck. One thing she remembered vividly was stealing it from Marik's room and wearing it while the duel between Yami and Marik had been going down. Where was it now? A tiny inkling of panic formed a rock in Rain's stomach as she forced herself to sit up.

"Where are my clothes? My stuff that I was wearing when I came in here!" Ryo appeared taken aback by her little outburst, his eyes widened slightly as she struggled to get out of bed.

"Rain! Don't, you're still weak, so lay down! One of the nurses changed your clothes and put all your stuff in that drawer." He pointed to a tiny dresser against the far wall beside what looked like a bathroom. Rain calmed slightly but still forced herself out of bed, holding onto the IV drip tightly. Ryo sighed and suddenly he was there. Beside her, an arm wrapped around her back supporting her as she made her way to the dresser.

"Thank you." She muttered, Ryo just gave her a small smile.

"You're crazy for even attempting to get out of that bed without a doctor looking at you first you know. I don't know what could be in that drawer that is so important that it couldn't wait until you were a little stronger." Rain opened the drawer and grabbed the bag inside before hobbling back to the bed and practically collapsing back onto it. Ryo sat next to her and Rain glanced at him, suddenly nervous. Would he be angry with her for having the ring if it was still in the bag? She heaved a sigh and opened it, rummaging through the clothes. She found the ring wrapped in her shirt, along with her necklace. Rain put her necklace on right away, then pulled the ring out of the bag gently placing it on her lap. It was warm to the touch. She didn't look at Ryo, knowing he was staring at her likely waiting for an explanation.

"…I…You're probably wondering how I ended up with the sennen ring."

"Something like that…"

"I stole it."

"Pardon me?"

"Marik took it after the spirit dueled him. I didn't want that…that…" Rain clenched her fists. " I didn't want that monster to have his filthy hands on the ring. So when the Pharaoh and Marik began their duel I broke into his room and took the ring. I had it under my shirt when I went up to watch the rest of the duel. I was scared someone had taken it when I realized someone had changed my clothes." Rain finally turned to look at Ryo, he had a strange look on his face.

"Do you realize how dangerous that was?" The girl blinked,

"Um…what?" Ryo scowled, a look that looked strangely unnatural on his face. Which was weird because Bakura shared his body and he scowled all the time.

"As far as I know, everyone who's tried to touch the sennen ring runs the risk of being driven insane by it's power if they aren't fated to have it. That's what I've been told anyway. You could have been hurt." Rain stared at him for a moment.

"Um…well, Obviously I'm ok. But thank you for your concern Ryo. I didn't know you cared." A slight blush crossed Ryo's face at that, he sighed softly before gently taking the sennen ring out of Rain's hands and placing it around his neck. Rain watched, slightly mystified as it seemed to vaporize into Ryo's chest. Rope and all.

"You know, I've always wondered if it hurt when it does that." Ryo shrugged.

"It tingles…Kind of like when your foot falls asleep." Rain nodded, she still couldn't get over seeing things happen through magic, despite it practically running through her veins. There was a slight knock and a woman who Rain assumed to be a nurse walked into the room, she stared at Rain in surprise for a moment before walking briskly over to the bed and checking the poor girl over, pretty much shoving Ryo off to the side as she did so. After a couple minutes Rain's health was deemed both miraculous and satisfactory. The woman left without another word after removing the IV from Rain's arm and muttering that Rain could go whenever she felt ready. Rain was left in a slight daze for a few moments before shaking her head and looking back over at Ryo who had moved to stand on the other side of the bed. She was tempted to ask about the spirit of the ring but felt that it would be inappropriate considering Ryo was an unwilling host. She hadn't heard a word from him since before that final duel and was trying to figure out if he was alright or just avoiding her for some reason or another. The girl stood up slowly and with Ryo's help made her way to the door.

"Are you ok to be walking? I can get someone to bring a wheelchair if you like."

"I'll be okay, I just have to lean on you when I get tired." Rain failed to see the slight blush on the young man's cheeks once again as they made their way into a hallway. Ryo guided her to the elevator and hit the button for the main floor. She leaned against the wall for a moment, eyeing Ryo, after a few seconds he got a little uncomfortable under her stare.

"What?"

"I don't want to sound rude at all…but I've talked to you least out of almost everyone that I've met here. Why was it you I woke up to in that room?" Ryo blushed once more, scratching the back of his head and offering her a shy smile.

"Well, I just was worried about you…and I was less busy than everyone else so I offered to keep an eye on you whenever the others couldn't be there…You just happened to wake up while I was present. You were there for me when I was hurt too so it just felt like the right thing to do." The elevator doors opened and Ryo help Rain onto what looked like a front foyer. There was a sudden yelp to their left and Rain was very nearly crushed in an over enthusiastic hug. Courtesy of her best friend. Ryo had to literally pull the other girl off her. Rain rubbed her abused ribs for a moment, cringing as she did so. _Stupid Marik and his freaking abusive ways…_ Anna was bouncing in her toes, eyeing Rain in a way that almost made the other girl feel self-conscious.

"Rain! I've been worried sick!" She jabbed a finger at Ryo's chest. "You! Why didn't you tell me she woke up!" She turned back to Rain, who was slightly dumbfounded. "You still look terrible, but a heck of a lot better than you were when we got back to domino. I freaked when I saw you lying there you know!" There were tears in her eyes now. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're ok. I'm sorry I couldn't help you Rain." Rain shook her head.

"You threw a shoe at Marik's head. That was good enough." Anna giggled slightly.

"I can't believe I did that. It would have been funny if it wasn't so scary at the time." Anna tilted her head to the side, then took Rain's hand and led her outside the mansion. "Thank you for getting Bakura to protect me in the shadow realm Rain. As much as a jerk he was the whole time, he kept me from getting my soul eaten by giant insects."

"Giant insects?"

Anna shuddered. "Yeah. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a bug the same way ever again. Those things came after us more than anything else. Bakura managed to kill them without the help of the sennen ring so kudos to him." Ryo smiled.

"Yeah, Bakura complained the entire time, saying he didn't have time to baby-sit us, threatening us when we didn't keep up to his pace and whatnot. I'm used to it, but he was pretty mean to Anna. Something tells me they don't like each other." Rain raised a brow as Anna gave an unladylike snort.

"I can't _stand_ him."

"And yet you like Kaiba." Rain wondered out loud, laughing when Anna's face went red. Ryo even chuckled a little. Things seemed…almost back to normal, though Rain couldn't help but notice Ryo and Anna were a heck of a lot closer than before…but being stuck in the shadow realm together could do that to people. Heck, going through crazy bad experiences together seemed to bond people together. Rain was slightly irked that she'd been out cold for the last three days. She hadn't wanted to miss coming home. She blinked. Since when had Domino become home?

"Rain! Are you listening?" She was shaken out of her thoughts by Anna waving a hand in front of her face,

"What?"

"Seto has agreed to get us identities in this world. Since he's amazing, we'll have identification and records in the next five days if not sooner." Rain stared for a moment in shock, then what was being said began to register in her mind.

"So…I'll be able to get a job? I won't have to live in Yugi's living room anymore?" Anna smirked.

"Nope. We can exist! I'm officially moved into the Kaiba mansion now though. A full time Mokuba-sitter." Rain was again dumbfounded by this new bit of information. She barely noticed as her two friends helped her into a limo, sitting on either side of her.

I think I broke her." Anna said, sounding slightly worried. Ryo shook his head.

"She's alright, just absorbing what you just said." Rain blinked, then grabbed Anna's arm.

"You're seriously moving in to the Kaiba mansion? You aren't joking?"

"I already moved in Rain."

"And you guys aren't dating?"

"No. We aren't. He just didn't like that I was technically homeless so he told me it would be easier for me to keep an eye on his brother if I was living in the house. I mean, it's almost like having a one bedroom apartment. I have my own kitchen and everything."

"Well, as soon as I have a job I'm moving into an actual apartment. Yugi doesn't have enough room for me as it is. We were sleeping on an air mattress for goodness sake."

"Yami won't like that." Anna said quietly, "He's been out of his mind worrying about you, so I have a feeling he won't want you out of his sight."

"It's not like I'm in danger anymore." Rain paused. "For the moment anyway."

"He still won't like you living in an apartment by yourself."

"Well, he forgets I can control the elements and would have no trouble defending myself from anyone who would dare break and enter."

Anna put her hands up in a defensive position.

"I'm just telling you the truth, getting out of that household will be like pulling teeth out of a crocodile."

"I have a spare room, Rain could move in with _me_." Both girls turned to Ryo, who blushed slightly under their scrutiny. " Well, then she won't be alone."

" I think the pharaoh would like that even less."

" Actually, it would be a lot cheaper than me living alone and we can keep each other company. I'm sure it gets lonely living alone." Rain totally ignored Anna's previous comment. Ryo smiled at her,

"Just let me know when you want to move in, because I'll have to get the spare room ready. It hasn't been used in a couple years."

"Are you both forgetting something important?" Anna almost yelled at them, causing them to momentarily fear for their lives. "The evil spirit that tends to possess him on occasion." Anna jabbed a finger at Ryo, who flinched in response. "Also is the pharaoh's worst enemy and…" She jabbed the same finger at Rain, who fought the urge to lean forward and bite it. "He wants to get in your pants!" Both Rain and Ryo blushed a dark scarlet at that comment, and Rain regretted not biting Anna's finger.

"He's not going to molest me unless I want him to." Rain's blush got darker, "And I don't want him to." Anna raised a brow at her friend.

"You don't huh? I know you better than that. You have this odd habit of getting caught in the moment. You can't tell me if he went all sexy on your ass you wouldn't jump him."

Rain wished she could bury herself under a rock and hide there forever, she couldn't even look at Ryo at this point. She chose to glare at Anna.

"I. Would. Not." She narrowed her eyes further, "Did you forget that Ryo is in this limo with us? That the spirit and him share a body? That me doing Anything with Bakura would be like molesting _him_?" Anna sputtered for a moment.

"Oh…Uh…Shit…" She looked over at Ryo, who was hiding his face against his knees at this point. "I'm so sorry Ryo."

"It's ok." He responded, voice muffled by his legs.

"Do you still want me to move in?"

"Yeah. I know you're not the type to…uh…instigate anything." _In other words he knows I won't jump the spirit but the spirit wouldn't have a problem molesting ME. _Rain patted Ryo on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't let him." Ryo raised an eyebrow,

"I've come to terms with it. If anything happens with him, I know it won't be your fault."

There was silence until the limo came to a stop in front of the Kame game shop, where Ryo and Anna helped Rain make her way inside, Anna waved as the limo drove off. As they entered the little bell over the door announced their presence. Almost immediately Rain was bombarded with most of their friends. Apparently Kaiba had told them that Rain was on her way. She assured them all she was ok, and noticed Malik skulking in the back of the room. She made her way over to him, and poked him in the shoulder.

"Hey." Malik turned to her, his face blank.

"Hi." Rain sighed,

"Malik. Are you still blaming yourself for everything?" He frowned at her, irritated that she could see right through him. He crossed his arms,

"No."

"Malik."

"What?"

"Stop pouting. I can read you because I've been trying to learn to read Bakura. He's a thousand times harder than you are." Malik scowled.

"I don't pout." Rain giggled, earning a glare.

"Malik, ask anyone here and they all know you pout when something doesn't go your way. You're cute like that." Malik stared at that, then ran a hand through his hair.

"I…Can't believe you just told me I'm cute…after all the pain I've caused you too…" Rain rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't you, stupid. It was the evil man that was living in your body. He's gone now. We're friends." Rain eyed him, "We ARE friends, right?" Malik saw the look she was giving him and groaned in defeat.

"Yes, of course we're friends." Rain smiled and gave him a hug, noticing as he tensed,

"Malik, relax. If I can hug you without freaking out you should be able to handle it too."

"…It's not that." Rain pulled back and looked at him, he continued, "I have received very few real hugs in my life. I'm…not used to real affection, especially when it involves someone touching my back."

"Oh." Rain tilted her head to the side, " Well, I'll give you as many hugs as you want. I like hugging people I like, and you deserve to have lots of hugs. No person should be un-hugged. I mean my personal space bubble is still bigger than most but hugs are always good for making you feel better when it's from someone you know and trust and-" Malik suddenly burst out laughing, causing Rain to give him a strange look.

"I…can't believe that you just went on a rant about hugs." Rain rolled her eyes, giving him a gentle push.

"When do you have to go back to Egypt?" He shrugged,

"Soon. Ishizu, Rishid and I will probably be going back in about a week." Rain nodded.

"Well, before you go, we'll have to hang out at some point." Malik looked confused,

"Hang out…is that some sort of slang?" Rain held in a giggle as she reminded herself that Malik had lived underground for most of his life.

"We need to spend some time together like normal teenagers, go to the arcade or something. No magic involved." He nodded,

"That would be nice." They were interrupted by Anna, who literally kidnapped Rain and dragged her upstairs. Apparently Yugi had been having a nap and she wanted to surprise him, Rain was slightly worried they'd give him a heart attack. She talked Anna into staying outside of his room while Rain went in to wake him. She still had to move slowly so she hobbled over to Yugi's bed and sat on the edge. It took less than a second for Yami to take over, ready to mind crush anyone who had snuck up on his aibou, when he saw her his eyes widened and he sat up quickly as though he'd been shocked.

"Rain! You…How…When…?" Rain smiled at him,

"I woke up a little while ago, Anna and Ryo took me here and told me what's gone on since I passed out." Yami gently put his arms around her,

"You're ok?"

"Yeah…I mean, I'm a little sore…ok, a lot sore…and I'm a tad jumpy, and I have a heck of a lot of issues that I'm going to have to work through now, but other than that I'm a lot better than I thought I'd be." Rain gave a little internal shudder as she remembered think that she was going to die. Yami sighed in her ear,

"I thought I'd lost you. Your vital signs when we got back were nearly non-existent. I…honestly have no idea how you survived the abuse to your life energy in that duel. And to be awake and moving around only three days later…you're sure you're ok?" Rain had to pry him off of her,

"Yes, I'm ok. Almost as good as new. Just in need of some good counseling. And maybe some painkillers. Malik was worse than me."

"He thought he almost killed you."

"Well, I kind of forced him into a hug and told him to knock it off. I hope I fixed his 'I'm guilty' attitude." Yami chuckled,

"Yeah, me too." Rain sighed,

"Well…apparently Kaiba is making me an ID. So I can get a job…and I kind of…um…well, I've decided to move into Ryo's spare room." Rain eyed Yami's stoic expression, after a minute of silence he spoke.

"Well…That's a bit of a bombshell to drop on me the minute you're back." Rain winced slightly, he continued, "How do we know you'll be safe there?"

"It's Ryo Yami. He'd never hurt me."

"He's not the one I'm worried about. No one has been able to find the ring so how do we know the spirit won't come back?" Rain cringed internally as her conscience yelled at her. She forced herself to ignore it.

"Even if he did somehow come back he wouldn't hurt me…"

"You don't know that Rain."

"Brother…" He leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, finally he threw his hands up and gave up.

"Fine. But if he does show up…and pulls something…I want you to come back here straight away. No excuses to go back, you will come here to stay ok?" Rain sighed, knowing this was the best she was going to get.

"Ok. It's a deal."

…..two days later…..

Rain was try hard not to think about Bakura at the moment, because thinking about him too much brought about the thoughts of what Ishizu had told her on the blimp and she knew if she dwelled on that bit of information she'd need serious therapy because she'd go insane. Unfortunately he came up in conversation a lot since she was moving in with his light….well, and technically that meant she was moving in with _him_ too. She sighed as she followed Ryo up the stairs to his apartment, they had been out shopping all day and she was exhausted, though it had been a necessary outing. When Ryo had learned how little she had, he'd practically forced her to let him buy her some more clothes, along with an alarm clock, a lamp, and a notepad and paper. According to him everyone needed one for some reason or another, so Rain just agreed with him to keep from having to hear a long speal on why she had to have one. _At least he's carrying everything for me…Who knew he could be so scary about shopping of all things? At least now I know he's a tad OCD…_Rain had noticed he was a clean freak the moment she'd stepped into the apartment. Also, everything was very organized. Hopefully he wasn't determined to keep her room like the rest of the house, because that wasn't going to happen. Ever. It hadn't been too much of a struggle to get out of Yugi's house, he'd actually put up more of a fuss than the pharaoh, which seemed bizarre, but when Rain promised to call every day he'd calmed down. Ryo seemed freakishly happy, but then he'd been living alone for a long time and was likely in desperate need of some human companionship. Rain still hadn't asked about Bakura yet, she figured if he cared he would have shown up already.

"Ok…no more shopping for me today Ryo. I really need to rest." Rain almost whined but held onto her dignity and held it in. Ryo smiled at her as he unlocked the door to the apartment they, as of now, shared and helped her inside.

"You can have a nap if you want. I know I really wore you out today and I truly am sorry, but to think you had barely anything to call your own…well, I had to at least help you pick up some basics." Rain knew he meant well. She made her way to her new room, it was actually bigger than she thought it would be and had a lovely queen-sized bed in the centre. The walls were a calming dark beige color and there was a small desk along with an oak dresser. Rain smiled as she noticed the bedding, it was a pretty sort of deep red color with off white sheets, it reminded her of Christmas…she liked it. Rain wandered over and squirmed beneath the covers with a soft sigh, and within seconds she was fast asleep.

…..

_Everything was dark, it was an abyss and she was right in the middle of it. Rain whimpered slightly, she didn't mind nighttime but this was complete darkness. Where was she? What was going on? All she could hear was her own breathing and she could feel nothing. Not even a floor. Just…nothingness. Suddenly a pinprick of light appeared in the distance, growing slowly to reveal what appeared to be a palace room, she could feel the floor beneath her feet now. She was in a bedroom. Rayana's room at the palace, at least that's what Rain figured. She blinked in the welcome light._

"_Well…This is different." She was still in her normal clothes. Still Rain, yet for some reason she was in her past self's room. She had a strange feeling about this. It wasn't a memory, so maybe just a strange dream. But then usually people didn't know they were dreaming. She yelped as someone grabbed her roughly by the arm and spun her around, gasping when she found herself staring into crimson, hate filled eyes. _

"_B-Bakura?" No…this at first appeared to be the spirit as he was in the future, but after the first fleeting second Rain noticed his features were all wrong. A warped, demented version of him, like a man mixed with a beast. All wide grins and sharp teeth. Rain's eyes hardened as she tried to push down the fear she felt. "It's you." She stated flatly, the thing smirked. Letting go of her arm and giving a bow._

"_Hello again, little miss meddlesome." At her slightly confused expression it grinned, "We've met before, you have this nasty habit of always getting in the way of my plans." It circled her, making her feel like prey. "You'll remember soon, and when you do you'll try to stop me again when your little sweetheart begins the ultimate game of darkness in the pharaoh's memory world."_

"_I think any sane person would try to stop you, demon." It chuckled, _

"_I see you're going to be just as irritating as you were last time we all got together. A pity, if we worked together we could accomplish great things." The thing stroked her cheek in a mock lovingly gesture. Rain shuddered, fear and anger mixing in her gut. _

"_Like hell I would ever work with you. I will help my brother defeat you this time even if it kills me so get out of my head you freak!" It outright laughed this time, then faced her with narrowed eyes. _

"_As you wish." Rain screamed as it lunged forward and impaled her on a clawed hand. It held her in a sick embrace, "I will personally see to your complete destruction Angel. We're going to have SO much fun." It breathed in her ear. _

…...

Rain woke screaming, clutching her stomach in terror. Ryo ran into the room, after seeing the look on her face he sat on her bed and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Rain." She wouldn't meet his gaze, tears rolled down her face as she sobbed. Ryo shook her gently. "Rain, look at me." He placed two fingers under Rain's chin and forced her to meet his kind brown eyes. "It was just a dream. You're alright, ok?" Rain found herself clutching at him, shaking.

"Ryo…thank you." Rain felt in her heart though, it had been far more than a dream. It had been a warning from Zorc, the beast that had tied his essence to Bakura. Apparently they had history…but according to Bakura she'd stayed on the sidelines…so what the hell was it talking about? Had she really known about the demon back then? Tried to fight it? Rain just added this to her big bubble of confusion. She let Ryo hold her until she stopped shaking, then finally asked about Bakura.

"Have you sensed him at all? Anything?" Ryo leaned back, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well…I've never really been very good at sensing him, but…I'm pretty sure he's there. Back in the ring I mean." Rain picked at some lint on the blanket. "Do you…want me to see if I can get him to come out? I can tell you want to talk to him." Rain blinked in surprise.

"You'd do that for me?" Ryo shrugged,

"Yeah. You're my friend." That was the most simple explanation she'd ever heard. Ryo closed his eyes and Rain watched him as the ring appeared and began to glow softly. After about half a minute it was Bakura who opened his eyes in front of her, the expression on his face one of slight surprise.

"Well…that was new. He's never pulled me out like that before." Rain stared as he seemed to register her presence. "What in Ra's name are you doing here?"

"I live here." He blinked.

"Since when did you move in with Ryo? Because I know this isn't the pharaoh's brat's house." He crossed his arms with a scowl.

"Since today. Ryo offered me the guest room. It's better than getting an apartment by myself and I was sick of sleeping in Yugi's living room on an air mattress." Bakura glared for a moment, before seemingly accepting the information. He definitely wasn't explecting Rain to hit him over the head with a pillow. "What the hell was that for?" He roared, Rain gave him a dirty look before getting off the bed and walking to the door.

"What the hell were you doing while I was dying a week ago? I called out for you. I thought you said you'd be there for me if I needed you." Bakura stood up as well, glaring at her.

" I was busy." Rain's eyes widened,

"Busy. You were busy. You could have at least answered me."

"Well, I couldn't."

"And what exactly kept you so very busy?" Rain was yelling now, "What the hell was so important? I was dying!"

"You appear very much alive now." He replied coldly. Rain growled and ran at him, throwing her fist at his face. Bakura caught her wrist and, in some sort of martial arts move, had her pinned back down on the bed in one swift motion.

"You bastard. You fucking bastard. Let me go!"

"I'm not letting go of you until you calm the hell down!" Rain continued to struggle, she was screaming at the ceiling now. All of her pain and rage from the most recent part of her life in her voice and suddenly at the forefront of her mind.

"You know what? Screw fate! Destiny and all that shit can go fuck itself for all I care! I refuse to be a pawn in this! I refuse to die like you fucking want me to!" Bakura sighed as tears began to run down her face, her body was glowing brightly and he was putting all he could into siphoning off the magical energy she was leaking. Even so, her body was beginning to heat up a little too much.

"Rain, if you do not calm yourself this instant you're going to destroy this apartment. You don't want to wreck this lovely room Ryo has set up for you, do you?" Rain heard him through her pain filled haze. With some effort, the light coming from her began to dim. Rain's tears still leaked from her eyes but she wasn't making anymore noise. "Did giving the gods a piece of your mind help at all?" Rain nodded. They were silent for a few moments, Bakura still didn't trust her not to hit him if he let her up. Obviously she'd had a little more than she could handle.

"I was doing a transfer*." Rain blinked,

"What?" Bakura rolled his eyes, but repeated himself.

"I was doing a transfer. That's why I was gone for so long, why I was too busy to answer you." It took Rain a moment to digest.

"I thought you couldn't do that without the sennen ring."

"You were wearing the ring, and since you were in the shadow realm my connection to it strengthened enough to use a sliver of it's magic."

"…" Rain stared at him for a moment, "You…what were you transferring?" He looked uncomfortable for a moment.

"Energy." There was a moment of silence, _Me surviving was no miracle…He was helping me the whole time and I didn't even know it. But then that's how he does things. In the background…stealthily where no one notices him until his plans come together. _Rain looked up at him, mentally vowing to try as hard as she could to get his soul out of Zorc's clutches. She owed him that much, even if she eventually might have to fight against him, he'd saved her life. Part of her wanted to be angry because it made her love him more, even when every fiber of her being told her that she'd have to hate him if she ever hoped to defeat him.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. He just looked down at her, still holding onto her wrists.

"Don't be." He grated out, "You're allowed to feel anger."

"It was misguided." He squeezed her wrists slightly, making Rain wince. "Bakura?" Her voice came out quieter than she wanted, he gave her a questioning look. Rain met his gaze,

"Kiss me?" He complied.

…_..._

_* In the manga, and a little bit in the anime, the sennen ring had the ability to transfer souls into objects. I figured if it could do that, it could probably transfer other things too, and that it didn't always have to be inanimate objects either. _

_AHA! -cackles happily- Finally figured out where to end that chapter, next chapter is in the works. I've made a bet with myself that I'll finish it before the week ends. That is my plan. Next chapter= orechalcos…or however the heck you spell that. I hate that season. I may begin to switch back and forth between Rain and Anna more, because I really have been ignoring Anna's part in all this. -sigh- Well, I've been inspired again so I'm going on a writing spree. Might even do a Christmas one-shot! _

_Bakura: Ok EgyptianSoul.88, stop talking. You're beginning to ramble._

_Fine… Anyway, please read and review. I love you all. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I'll be working overnight shifts at work all December so I should definitely manage to update more often being awake all night and all. -hands out some home made muffins.- _


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14.

_Bakura: And she's making me do the disclaimer again. -scowls- EgyptianSoul.88. does not own Yugioh. There, happy now?_

_EgyptianSoul.88.: -shrugs- thank you to those who reviewed, I adore you! Anyway, hope you like this chapter! And I'm SOOO sorry for being so much later than I thought I would be…just been way more busy than I thought I'd be…_

…_..._

Rain sighed softly, gazing at the ceiling in her new room and thinking over the day before. After her little freak out, and subsequent mushy-ness on her part Bakura had abruptly vanished back into the sennen ring and Ryo had made her dinner. She'd tried to tell him he didn't have to but he'd insisted. _Ryo is an amazing cook… _She could smell breakfast now, and wondered if it could top the Italian dish he'd thought up the night before. _It's weird to think that Ryo Bakura is cooking for me…again, the fan girls would kill me, but that's ok, the way he cooks is totally worth it…hey, whatever happened to going to school here? Or is Kaiba just going to forge documents saying I graduated…I'll have to ask Anna…Haven't spent nearly enough time with her since we got thrown into this world. I feel like I need to make it up to her somehow. Oh yeah, I was going to go home to visit, I really should try to take her with me, her mom is probably insane with worry. _Rain was interrupted from her thoughts when Ryo knocked on her bedroom door. She got up and opened it, revealing Ryo standing there in light blue pajamas with a sweet smile on his face.

"Hey, I made breakfast. Did you sleep well?"

She couldn't help the mini fan girl moment she had internally. _Oh my God…He's too cute for his own good…I want to hug him…Huge need to hug him, but then Bakura would kick my ass…but he's so CUTE… But Bakura will kill me…Ryo is just so…Ah, screw Bakura I need to get this out of my system. _Before Ryo could even think about being surprised Rain let out a little squeal and threw her arms around him and proceeding to squeeze him to death, he turned bright red and immediately attempted to escape. As suddenly as Rain had grabbed him, she let go, blushing slightly and shooting him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I had to hug you."

"Might I ask why?" She shrugged,

"Have you ever been able to not want to pet an adorable kitten?" He stared, then just shook his head, and wandered into the kitchen, Rain followed and sat at the table, almost drooling as he placed a steaming plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes before her. "Wow, you really go all out, don't you?" He blushed again, sitting down with his own plate.

"I like to cook." He still was glancing at her warily when he thought she couldn't see, so Rain spoke after a few minutes of trying to look ladylike while attempting to shovel food into her mouth.

"Ryo, you ever wonder why you have a fan club at your school that pretty much stalks you?" He blinked.

"How did…Never mind…Um…" He just settled on giving Rain a blank look, which made her laugh.

"It's because you're cute. To the point where you dazzle the heck out of people. I think if you tried, you could have anything you want just by smiling at the right people." His blush was deepening with every word out of her mouth, by the end of the sentence his cheeks were nearly purple. Odd, but true. She paused, "Anyway, that's why I hugged you, because you're dangerously cute and I really couldn't help it…don't worry though, because I'm not like your fan girls from school. I won't do it again, okay?" He blinked, then smiled.

"Alright." He noticed her plate was empty. "Did you…like your breakfast?" Rain giggled,

"Yeah, I was hungry. Did you take cooking classes or something?" He shook his head.

"I've lived alone for a long time, so I've had to cook for myself…I found I enjoy it so I just got lots of experience I suppose." He had a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke, a hint of sadness on his face, Rain almost felt bad for asking. The phone rang, Ryo answered it and handed it to Rain. She blinked.

"H-Hello?" _Who would be calling for me? _

"Hi Rain! How are things over there?" It was Anna, a smile spread across Rain's face.

"Pretty good, Ryo made me breakfast." Ryo's cheeks turned red again, much to Rain's amusement. "Oh, and I tackled him."

"Uh…why?"

"Well…it was more of a hug…cause he's just so sweet…"

"Seriously? I'm kind of jealous." There was a pause, "Did Bakura get mad at you for assaulting his host?" Rain twirled a bit of her hair around a finger, frowning slightly.

"I have no idea, he didn't do anything though."

"Ah, I see. Well, Seto decided to say we already graduated from school so we won't have to go to Domino high, and congrats on your new job by the way." Rain stared at the phone for a moment.

"Anna, I don't have a job. I haven't applied for one yet." Rain head chuckling coming from the receiver, she sighed.

"Rain, Yugi's been telling everyone you have a job at the game shop. One of their hired hands quite and he immediately got his grandpa to choose you for the position."

"I knew they would find a way to keep an eye on me." Rain groaned, "Those two are both a little overbearing."

"Rain, after everything we all just went through, I can't say I blame them. You didn't have to try keeping them sane while you were unconscious, both Yami and Yugi were terrified that you were going to die. You know how that would have gone, and Malik was a mess as he feels that it was his fault. It was pretty brutal." Ryo gave Rain a questioning look when she wiped a tear away, she felt terrible for causing everyone so much pain.

"I know…"

"Rain, it's not your fault." Anna knew her well…Rain chuckled slightly,

"Again, I know. I can't help but feel bad though.

"Ok…anyway, did you want to go sightseeing around domino today? I figure the next um…thing involving Yugi saving the world will probably be starting soon so we might as well have some fun beforehand."

"You think so? I suppose it couldn't hurt to get out for a bit." Rain agreed to meet Anna at the park around eleven, then they said their goodbyes. She hung up the phone and turned to Ryo.

"Hey, do you want to go around Domino with Anna and I today?" He shrugged,

"I suppose, I don't have much else to do so I can be your guide if you want." Rain smiled widely.

"Good idea, you know way more about the city than I do, that's for sure. I'd hate to get myself lost."

So Rain and Anna had their first real couple hours of fun, of course the little outing was ended early when Anna had gotten a text from Kaiba saying that she was needed back at the Kaiba household, about two seconds after the text was read, a car appeared out of nowhere and stopped right beside them. Anna gave a helpless little shrug as Rain openly wondered whether or not Kaiba had some sort of homing device on her friend. Rain and Ryo were left alone on the sidewalk after Anna got into the backseat of the car and it tore away at a speed that made Rain slightly concerned for Anna's safety.

"I think I may have a chat with Kaiba about having his staff be more careful on the roads." Ryo nodded in agreement.

"He did pull away quite quickly didn't he?" Rain scowled as she looked into the distance where the car had disappeared to, then sighed softly. "I guess we might as well get going. You have anything planned for the rest of the day?" Ryo looked at the sky, sighing softly.

"I shoulda brought my camera, then we could have gone to the docks." At Rain's questioning look he shrugged, "Well, the ocean can be very beautiful."

"If you want I can try to paint it for you. Makes for good stress relief for me, and you'll have something nice to look at." He blinked as they started walking,

"You paint?" He sounded surprised, Rain grinned at him,

"Yeah. It was the one thing I'm really good at, my art teacher even made me promise to go to the art academy back home after high school. She was determined to make me a famous artist someday." Rain chuckled to herself, "I think it was the only class I did well in actually, that and biology. I suck at math…and don't get me started on physics. Ugh…" Ryo laughed gently,

"I can't say I've ever tried my hand at physics."

"Well…it's evil." Rain tilted her head to the side, remembering her old life, attending high school felt so far away now. "My biology teacher acted more like a comedian than anything else, he was a good teacher. He made dissecting things kind of fun." Ryo made a face,

"Ew…How can dissecting anything be fun?"

"I don't know, he just said funny things as he went around the room…he teased me once because an eyeball we had to cut open squirted at me and I screamed. It got all over my shirt." Ryo choked slightly, looking slightly green,

"Can we not talk about squirting eyeballs?" Rain cackled, making him stop and stare at her for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Ryo just shook his head at her before continuing towards their apartment complex.

"I'm beginning to wonder about your sanity." Rain raised an eyebrow.

"This coming from you?" Ryo gave her what could probably pass for a glare…if you were squinting. Rain rolled her eyes, " Well, you _are_ mister Occult stuff lover…not to mention the overall oddness of your life."

"I…that…oh, shut it. You're worse than I am." Rain smirked as they finally made it to their apartment door,

"I know, but you're so fun to bug." Ryo just sighed as they shuffled into his home, Rain had a moment where she realized, for the billionth time, that she lived there too. She wandered into the living room and sat on the couch, flicking on the television as she did so. There wasn't much on, she settled for what looked like a sitcom of some sort. It was either that or the news, and since she didn't feel like listening to them talk about Kaiba corp., along with replaying bits from battle city while listening to someone trying to explain away the injuries and vast amount of technical issues caused by unknown interference aka shadow magic, she'd settled for a random TV show. After a little while she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, someone was roughly shaking her awake.

"Get up woman! Gods, you sleep like the dead!"

"I'm awake so piss off!" Rain lashed out, still half asleep. She opened her eyes fully, realizing Bakura appeared to be ready to smack her. She put her arms above her head to block the blow, but he just growled and lowered his arm much to her relief. This had to be the third time he'd almost hit her and she briefly wondered if he would ever actually follow through, then she glared at him.

"What's your problem?" He scowled at her, clearly still pissed at her for being so hard to wake up. Or maybe it was because she'd yelled at him…but whatever.

"Did you not notice the power has gone out?" Rain stared at him in disbelief,

"Um…no, I was asleep…" At the look he gave her, Rain looked around the room, she noticed the only light was coming from a few lit candles on the living room table and the daytime light coming from the few windows in the apartment. "Is that seriously why you woke me up?" He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the window, swiftly opening the blinds and shoving her towards it. Rain's eyes widened as a random ghoul of some sort flew by the window while people ran in fear in the street below them. Rain caught a glimpse of a dragon of some sort in the distance. She stared for a good amount of time in awe before Bakura cleared his throat in irritation. When she looked at him, he fixed her with an intense stare.

"Notice anything different?" The sarcasm was literally dripping from his words. Rain scratched her head.

"No, why do you ask?" Then she cackled, because the look on his face had been totally worth the possibility of pissing him off further. He made a strange growling sound in his throat.

"What do you think is causing this? And I could have swore I saw Yugi's god cards." Rain looked back to the window,

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, just avoid dueling anyone who seems weird to you and we can just stay here and watch the show. The gang is going to have to stop another crazy person from destroying the world, but it's nothing to do with you or your plans, so we can just wait until it's all over." Bakura just raised a brow as she spoke,

"So your pretty much telling me to ignore the things going on, ignore the pharoah when he vanishes to Ra knows where to fight someone else, and just take it easy?" Rain smiled at him, while conjuring a small ball of flame that tickled her hand as she played with it.

"Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying." He frowned,

"Why should I do this?" Rain stared at the flame in her hand, it danced across her fingers, beautiful but so dangerous. She sighed, thinking about how little time they both had left if he followed through with his plans for revenge. _Does he know I'll die if he's defeated? Should I tell him? I don't think it would stop him…he's still too driven…too controlled by Zorc… How can I tell him that I want to enjoy the time we have together as much as I can, I don't want to have to run off with the others to save the world again when I know I could die within a few years. _

"Because… I think everyone needs to take a break sometime, even you Bakura. Besides, the pharoah won't be able to try to get his memories back until after this new evil is defeated anyway and that's what you're waiting for right?" _Yeah, no…I couldn't do it. I can't bring myself to mention it. _Apparently she'd sounded more bitter than she thought because Bakura gave her a look, eyes narrowing.

"What's on your mind that you aren't saying? _Something_ is bothering you." Rain swallowed before, much to his surprise, bolting to the cell phone that Ryo had plugged in earlier that day in the kitchen. Just as she got to it, the phone rang, scaring the crap out of her.

"Uh…Hello?" She answered, as Bakura glared from the doorway. _saved by the phone…_

"Rain! Something's happened!" She frowned,

"Are you alright?" It was Yugi and he sounded shaken.

"Yeah…just…well, we were at the museum and Yami was trying to get his memories back when something really weird happened!" Rain sighed, she knew what had happened, but she let Yugi explain it to her. How the god cards had been stolen and monsters were all over the city. How he and Yami had dueled a guy who could summon a god with no sennen item, the strange things that had been said during the duel. He told her everything. Even how the guy had been sealed into a card when the duel had ended. " And he used some weird card called the seal of orechalcos! It was almost like a shadow duel!" She gave another sigh as he finished.

"I uh…noticed the monsters outside…Keep me updated, ok Yugi?"

"Are you coming to the game shop?"

"…Is it ok if I sit this round of weirdness out? I just figure it'll be less dangerous than just hopping into things…Though, if you need me at all, I'll be more than willing to come help you, I just…Have this feeling that if one of these weird folks rope me onto a duel I'll lose my soul and get trapped in a card…just like the guy you beat today. I don't duel…So I have a feeling I would be easy pickings for them." There was silence on the other end, then she heard Yami's voice.

"So…You will stay home while we sort this out?"

"Well…sort of…Ryo can keep me company…I just…Want to try to avoid danger for a bit instead of running right to it." She heard Bakura snort,

"Alright…just make sure you stay put and don't go venturing out in the city."

"Um…Ok _Dad_"

"Rain."

"Fine. Like I'd risk being eaten by a dragon or something anyway…" Just then there was a beep, Rain noticed Anna's number on the other line. "I've got to go, Anna's on the other line."

"Ok, call me if anything happens."

"Same to you!" Rain switched to the other line, while Bakura seemed to be growing increasingly irritated.

"Hey Anna."

"Hey! What did I tell you about the next thing happening soon? Did you see the size of some of those monsters! Kaiba's going crazy cause of all the reporters trying to blame him for this!" Rain rolled her eyes,

"Yes Anna, you were right. Good job, and yes. I did see the monsters, they are a tad hard to miss." Rain walked to the other side of the kitchen.

"Are you alright Rain? You seem cranky." She could feel Bakura's eyes burning into her back as she spoke,

"Yeah, I'm fine…just…been thinking about stuff, ya know?" Anna was quiet for a moment,

"What kind of stuff? Because you don't sound fine." Rain winced, Anna could always see through her…She hadn't talked to her about her conversation with Ishizu because she knew Anna would worry about it more than she was…She didn't want Anna to worry. But at the same time, she knew she should have told her, they usually didn't hide anything from each other.

"I…I'll tell you another time, ok Anna? I promise I will."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

"Ok…I'm going to go attempt to rescue Seto from the mob of people he's dealing with, we've already seen Yugi, are you going to meet us at the game shop? That way we can go with them when they head off to defeat Dartz."

" No one's with you right now? Because you're saying an awful lot about this…they don't even know who Dartz is yet."

"Rain, I'm alone. Mokuba's in the next room."

"Ok…well, I…I'm not coming with you guys for this one." Rain waited for Anna to demand for her to come, but to her surprise her friend didn't.

"Ok, I figured you wouldn't want to…I'm assuming you'll be staying here in Domino with Ryo and jerk face? Rain rolled her eyes,

"Yes. And that's not a very decent insult Anna."

"You'd better call Yugi. Let him know you're staying here while we all go off to save the world again."

"We talked already, I told him I'd be there if he needed help." They said their goodbyes and Anna promised to tell her when they would be leaving, then, still ignoring Bakura, Rain closed the phone, putting it back on the counter. Bakura was still glaring at her, she moved to pick up the phone again to call Anna back just for the hell of it, but he stormed forward and tore the item from her hand, slamming it back onto the counter and making Rain jump slightly.

"Rain. Speak. Enough of this game." She scowled at him.

"I'm not a dog, I don't' do tricks." He ran a hand through his hair, looking like he was about ready to pull it out of frustration.

"Tell me whatever it is that you're obviously keeping from me or I'll find a way to force it out of you. I'm telling you right now that me using force will not be pleasant." He smirked evilly. "For you anyway." Rain shook her head,

"There's nothing…" He leaned forward, a threatening look in his eyes, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her so there was no escape.

"Tell me now. Because I'm beginning to get irritated with this and I'm finding myself tempted to do something involving some rope, fire and my favorite knife that I'm sure you'll find unpleasant." Rain blinked, she was pretty sure he was serious about that.

"What exactly…are you tempted to do?" His eyes narrowed,

"Use your imagination." Rain shivered, he smirked at her. "So, what's on your mind?"

"…Can't you just let it go? I really don't want to talk about it…"

"No, you know me better than that by now, I should hope." Rain sighed heavily,

"I'm not saying anything, you can threaten all you want." He slammed the counter again, making Rain flinch slightly.

"Tell me or we'll see how you like it being a doll for a few hours!"

"A doll?" He gestured to the living room.

"Ever heard of monster world?" Rain shuddered as she remembered reading the manga. She glanced at his left hand.

"Did it leave a scar?" He raised a brow, then glared at her once again.

"Tell me or I'll force my way into your dreams again."

Rain didn't speak, just gave him an I'm-not-telling sort of look. Bakura leaned closer with a smirk, the look on his face slightly deranged as he suddenly gripped her shoulders harshly.

"If you don't tell me, and it turns out to be something I can use against the pharaoh…" He was so close Rain could feel his breath on her face. "I'm going to tie you up, with metal chains of course…And I'll make you scream for me…there will be no escape, because I'll take everything from you. Your power, your friends, your family, your innocence…absolutely _everything_ will belong to me." Rain closed her eyes as his fingers dug into her flesh, why did she have to love this man?

"I thought you weren't into that sort of thing." She muttered, he chuckled darkly.

"I do what I have to do to achieve my goals." She wanted to cry, could feel her tears fighting to make themselves known. _Fine, whatever. I'll tell him…not like he'll care anyway. _

" I don't want to die but you're going to kill me." There was no emotion in that statement. He stared at her for a moment,

"What the hell makes you think I'm going to kill you?" Rain took a slow steady breath,

"Well…I…I had a talk with Ishizu…She saw something that she thought I may have wanted to know."

"What did she see?"

"We are the power of balance-"

"I knew that." Rain glared at him,

"Let me speak. The power of balance consists of light and darkness, if either light or darkness disappears, the other can no longer exist in this world." His eyes narrowed and Rain could have swore she heard a growl.

"So what?" Rain took another deep breath, refusing to look at the tomb robber as she spoke her next sentence.

"When you face my brother, you will truly die, thus it is highly likely that you will be condemning me to a slow painful death the moment you are defeated. I'll probably last a year, hell, maybe two if I'm lucky. We don't know the details, but I'll pretty much waste away into nothing." She looked down at the floor, and for a moment all that was heard was soft breathing. Then it was like the air itself changed. Bakura grabbed her and threw her across the room. Rain crashed into the floor and thudded into the fridge, wincing. Would her injuries ever be able to heal properly? She sat up as he moved towards her with the agility of a fox, leaning down and slapping her across the face. She put a hand on her cheek in shock. He'd actually _hit her_, not just a threat. Just threw her across a room and slapped her! He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look into his eyes. _Shit he's pissed_

"You bitch, telling me I'm going to lose so blatantly." His words came out in a hiss, eyes seeming more red than brown. Rain felt terror bubbling up within her, but she refused to show it. He smirked, "When I win, make note that I say when…NOT if, you will be alive. I will have everything and my revenge will be fulfilled." Rain glared into his eyes,

"If you kill my brother and bring about the hell on earth that will follow, I will kill _myself_ to destroy _you_." Shock registered on his face and his eyes turned back to the reddish brown they'd been before, he let go of her and stood. Rain didn't move, just watched him. _Was that Zorc just now? He didn't look as demonic as in the dream but…I definitely got some serious evil vibes from him…more evil than normal. Those eyes…and Bakura usually never loses his temper…not fully. No…It wasn't just him there…the part of the demon within him just came to the surface because of what I said. It really pissed it off._ Rain had an urge to smirk at the thought of pissing off Zorc, _if_ that was what had happened, it had been worth the abuse she'd received.

"Rain. You don't mean that do you?" Rain stared up at him, there was slight confusion on his face. She raised a brow.

"Which part?" He frowned,

"Most of it."

"Um…well, I'll die if you go to hell or the afterlife…and if I die, same thing will happen to you. The reason it didn't happen properly before is, I'm assuming, you were dormant, there was other magic involved, and neither of us actually went to the afterlife."

"And you'll kill yourself if I win?" Rain scowled,

"If you follow through, you won't be the only one who wins. The demon you made a pact with will pretty much destroy the whole world. Since your souls are currently merged somewhat, I think if you die permanently, he will be sent back to hell and I want him gone."

Bakura didn't even act surprised when she brought up Zorc. She assumed he knew she knew.

"You would kill us both to destroy him." Rain gave him a look,

"Bakura. Your eyes turned red entirely when you decided to throw me across the room and hit me along with throwing threats left, right and centre. My theory is that it wasn't just you. I know you better than that and you don't lose it like that _ever_. I managed to make the demon angry, and he acted out through you. He's feeding off your anger and hate like a parasite and I hate him." The tomb robber gave Rain a hard look, then just shook his head and helped her to her feet.

"Nothing is controlling me Rain." She knew he wouldn't accept it, even if it was probably true. "You just got me upset…I wasn't expecting your words to affect me like they did and I reacted badly." Rain just shook her head, he touched her cheek. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard." At this Rain laughed,

"The fact that you hit me at all pisses me off. You think it doesn't bother me, knowing I'm going to die relatively soon if you don't get over this revenge thing? Hell…Even if you do get over it I'm still screwed."

"What do you mean?" Rain met his eyes,

"Bakura, you're a spirit. You can't stay in Ryou's body forever, he needs to be able to live his life. Your body died a long time ago, so naturally, you would have to go to the afterlife and I would follow shortly after. I think it's the gods way of making things run as they should again."

He didn't speak for a moment, just tilted his head to the side thoughtfully and stared at her.

"You're a fool." The statement was blunt and to the point. Rain just blinked in surprise and wandered into the living room to sit on the couch. Screams could still be heard outside, along with some crashes that didn't sound too great.

"How exactly am I a fool this time Bakura?" He followed her into the room and sat beside her, Rain wondered briefly if she was insane for not running away from him at this point. He had just attacked her within the last ten minutes after all.

"You accept your fate, you don't fight it. Even if it means death for you. I personally, won't give up until it's all over. The need for revenge weighs on me too greatly for me to just stop. That is why, even if you may die, I'm going to destroy the pharaoh and anything that gets in my way. It just has to be done." Rain stood, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"I'm fighting it as hard as I can Bakura! How can you not see it? I want to live! I want you to live! I want my brother to live! It's not possible to have all the things I want, _that_ is what I'm accepting. But I'm not just bending to fate's will easily."

"Then why do you say you love me?" Rain glared at him,

"Oh believe me, I've tried not to. Maybe I should see how dating another guy would work out, hmm? Maybe Malik, I'm sure he'd be willing to give it a try. Or maybe-" Bakura cut her off.

"NO!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her there. "You're mine. No other man can have you, I'll kill whoever tries." Rain rolled her eyes.

"So…What makes you want to any possible boyfriend I may get?" He didn't answer, just buried his face in her hair.

"Bakura?"

"What?"

"I would probably love you whether fated to or not." He blinked as she turned in his arms to face him, a strange look in her eyes.

"You may be kind of evil…crazy, and giant jerk most of the time…But there's more to you than that. You've been through hell, you're determined…and can be kind of sweet in a crazy axe-murderer sort of way…" He just gave her a look.

"None of what just escaped your mouth made any sense." Rain rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm not going to give up trying to get you to let it go you know." He smirked,

"And I'm never going to let anything go." He just kissed her in response, probably to get her to shut up, but she wasn't going to complain. She relaxed in his arms and groaned as he deepened the kiss.

CRASH

Both of them jumped, and Rain pretty much flew off the couch. Bakura just glared at the scaled leg of some sort of creature that had shot through the window. _Something_ was climbing their building.

"Do we have to get interrupted _every_ time?" He growled before grabbing Rain's arm and hauling her from the apartment. Rain grimaced as he decided to take the stairs.

"_Why?_" He looked over his shoulder at her with amusement on his face,

"You trust the elevator when there's a beast destroying the building?"

"Ok…You have a point." Rain was panting by the time they made it to the bottom. There was another crash from above them and Bakura pinned Rain against the wall with his body as a chunk of metal fell where she'd been standing a moment before. She gave him a dazed look as he let her go. "Uh…Thank you."

"We've got to go." He threw the door at the bottom of the stairwell open with a bang and they both ran outside. There were creatures everywhere, Rain couldn't help but stare.

"Where are we going?" He rolled his eyes,

"Away from them!" He pointed at a couple mean looking trolls down the street, Rain squeaked as he picked her up and ran. They were headed towards Domino park when a figure stepped out in front of them. Bakura stopped a few meters away from the man, who looked about thirty. The man was eyeing them both with a predatory gaze, Rain almost felt bad for the guy as Bakura took a step forward with a smirk on his face.

"Get out of the way, if you didn't notice, we were in a hurry." The man chuckled,

"I don't think so. I can see you have a strong soul…And the world does not need those of your ilk here, so I think I'll do it a favor and give you a better purpose." Bakura's smirk widened.

"And what purpose would you give me?" The man cackled,

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

"He's going to try to take your soul Bakura." He glanced back at her, then back at the man.

"I see…" He muttered, "Well, I'm going to assume you're challenging me to a duel?" The man cackled and they both readied their duel disks.

"I suppose I should know the name of the man whose soul I'll be taking?" Bakura chuckled darkly at the question.

"I am but a thief and a stealer of souls…my name is not important to the likes of you, mortal." Rain couldn't help but shiver at those words. _Didn't he say that in duelist kingdom? I love that I got to hear him say it person…gave me chills…How am I still having weird thoughts like this? He's not a movie star for goodness sake…_The man seemed vaguely unsettled for a moment, then just shrugged.

"So be it. Your confidence will be gone along with your soul when I win this duel." Bakura gave a chilling laugh at the comment,

"We'll see…Now, let the duel begin!"

…...

Yeah, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad…I didn't really like it…we'll see what Anna and the rest of the gang will be doing in the next chapter…and Rain might possibly molest Bakura…maybe…I promise to warn you if I get drunk for new years and decide to finally write a sex scene…ahem…anyway, sorry again for the wait. Hope you all had an awesome Christmas! Have a party tomorrow! See you all in the new year! -gives Bakura and Malik some fireworks- Ok, Hand em out boys. Review and get free fireworks!


	15. Chapter 15

Erm…sorry I took so long to update…it's been forever.-ducks as an assortment of sharp pointy things are thrown my way.- OKAY okay, It's been almost a whole year… Ahem… Don't worry, I've just beenWay more busy than I thought I'd be this year…I didn't abandon this story, I promise I'll finish it. I'm also in the process of writing an actual sci-fi romance novel, and planning 2 weddings… so that's been taking up a lot of my time as well J

Also, this chapter contains a LEMON! Don't like, don't read! M'kay? Hopefully I finally earned that M rating.

Chapter 15: the heck?

Rain looked back and forth as the two men began their face off, hoping the duel would be over quickly, with nobody getting hurt. Though, considering it was Bakura dueling the chances of no harm coming to the opponent were slim to none. She sighed as the tomb robber drew his first card.

"Hmmm…I summon the Gross Ghost of fled Dreams in attack mode and end my turn." Rain grimaced as the hologram turned up on the field. _Ew…I think his deck is cool and all, but it's a bit too creepy for me… no matter how many times I see the game played with real holo technology it still throws me for a loop._ She turned her gaze to the other man with narrowed eyes, wondering what his first move would be. The man was smirking,

"Now, I was expecting a little more than that young man. I play Opticlops in attack mode. Your Ghost is finished." Bakura didn't even flinch as his life points went down and his monster disappeared. The man placed two cards face down and ended his turn. Rain watched as a similar event seemed to re-occur for a few more turns. Bakura would summon a weak monster, his opponent would destroy it while continually spouting off about how bad of a duelist Bakura was. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _This idiot has no idea what he's dealing with, Bakura's a very special type of duelist, he's kind of like a cat. He enjoys toying with his victims, luring them into a false sense of security before striking with deadly accuracy…a really big, scary cat with shadow magic at his disposal…_

"Heheheh…HahaHAHAHA!" Rain was torn out of her thoughts by Bakura's dark laughter. Her eyes snapped back to the duel in front of her. "Oh, you fool."

"What the hell are you laughing about?"

"You've fallen into my trap quite nicely. I summon my Dark Necrofear. A demon like you've never met before." Rain watched silently as the frightening, yet oddly beautiful creature swooped around her briefly before fully materializing on the field. She could have swore the creature winked at her, but figured she was probably just letting her imagination get away with her.

"So? You finally brought out a creature with a bit of firepower. Should I be impressed? You're nearly out of life points if you haven't noticed little boy." Rain snorted, then blushed slightly when both duelists turned to look her way.

"eh…" Rain blushed slightly. "Just ignore me." The older man raised a brow, while Bakura just chuckled in his usual creepy way before turning back to the duel.

"Dark Necrofear is a favorite of mine…I end my turn."

"Wh…But you didn't even attack?" Bakura just stared at the man with no expression on his face.

"Take your turn."

"Fine." The man drew a card, then chuckled. "Prepare to witness a power far stronger than anything you have faced before! A power almost as old as time itself! I play the seal of Orichalcos!" Before anyone could react a glowing greenish light spread into a circle around the two duelists, a boundary with magic symbols within it along with an asymmetrical star like marking within. Rain yelped as she was thrown back by a burst of energy caused by the seal. She winced as she landed on her hip, Bakura tried to take a step towards her but was brought to a halt at the edge of the glowing green barrier.

"What the hell is this?" He snarled, turning back to his opponent, who now had a smaller version of the seal glowing on his forehead. The man laughed as Rain dusted herself off and stood up, now wary of where she was standing. _Hm…Note to self, make sure to stand farther away from duels next time…just in case magic is involved._

"The power of the orechalcos makes any monster I summon much stronger!" Rain scowled as he summoned another strong monster and destroyed dark Necrofear. Bakura didn't have much in the way of life points left. Rain grimaced.

"Hey! You forgot to mention that at the end of the duel, the loser's soul will be sealed!"

The man gave a small start at her words, then a slow smile spread across his face as he looked at her.

"Aw, now you've wrecked my big finale. How'd you know that, might I ask?" Rain glared at him.

"None of your business."

"I'm sure my master will be interested to know."

"There's always a master, isn't there, none of you lemmings can think for yourselves!"

Bakura growled, "You'll be telling this master nothing, because silly magic trick or not your fate is as good as sealed." Rain raised a brow at the 'silly magic trick' statement, but said nothing, now was not the time to make any cracks about Bakura's magic tricks.

"Oh really?"

"Really." Bakura smirked, "You see, I was planning on you destroying my Dark Necrofear. So far you've played into my hands." Rain sighed. _I knew it…he's doing the exact same thing he did to the pharaoh in the battle city tournament. Though…this guy will lose, I don't think anyone but my brother could have gotten out of that situation. This doesn't really bring back nice memories._

"Bakura, please be careful…this is different than the shadow duels you're used to."

"Rain, I'd appreciate it if you would be quiet. I don't need an inexperienced _woman_ trying to advise me." He sneered, Rain flinched slightly, then scowled.

"But-"

"Shut up." Rain glared at him through the greenish light created by the seal of Orichalcos, she tried not to appear hurt though she figured that neither duelist would notice if she cried. They were back to insulting each other and fighting out their duel. _I know he's like this, I should expect him to be an ass if I try to help him out but…Gods he's a chauvinistic, incredibly rude, nasty, cruel…dog turd. Inexperienced woman, eh? Just because I don't play duel monsters doesn't mean I know nothing. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't give decent help…Did I just call him a dog turd in my head? I think I did. Hah! Thank the gods he's not sharing my mind anymore, I don't even know how he'd react to that one. _She fought back the tiny smirk that tried to make it's way onto her face due to her own wandering thoughts as she remembered that she was angry at the spirit_. _She crossed her arms and scowled at the playing field.

"Seeing as I'm not needed here, I'm going for a walk. You can come find me when you're done tomb robber." Rain grumbled, before storming off in the direction of the park. Bakura hadn't really answered her when she'd said she was going, but she knew he'd heard. At least…she was pretty sure. Either way she was too mad at him to really care, he would finish the duel and find her eventually. She wasn't at all worried about him, the stupid old man he was dueling was just small fry. A sigh escaped her lips as she wandered past a small cluster of trees, stopping as she came to a small bench. She plopped down and ran her hands through her hair, feeling hopelessly frustrated. She knew such a small thing would normally not bother her so much, but too many things had happened in such a short time frame, too many things had been learned. It was like her mind wasn't coping and she felt like she was falling apart with no one she could truly lean on for support. Anna was off saving the world with most of her friends in this realm… though she supposed she could have gone with them if she truly wanted to, she was positive Bakura would have found her before kicking her ass for just up and leaving. The friends she's had back in the realm she was brought up in would never really understand what she was going through…hell, it would be a chore in itself to get them to even believe half the things she'd been dealing with over the last, how long had it been now, a couple months maybe? It had been May when she'd been sucked into what she'd begun to think of as the 'yu-gi-oh' realm as there was no other suitable name for it…the date now was July fifteenth…at least she was pretty sure it was, Rain hadn't really looked at a calendar properly in the last little while. She looked up to the sky, which was normal again…well, when you ignored the occasional creature still flitting about. Though most of the creatures seemed to be minding their own business, Rain couldn't help but still be a little freaked out to see monsters and dragons outside of duel monsters games and the shadow realm…corporeal and able to touch things in the real world. She chuckled to herself.

"Yeah, I can face the fact that I have weird magic powers that can go a little haywire if I get too emotional, and my boyfriend is a revenge obsessed spirit that lives in a bit of magic jewelry but the concept of creatures from the shadow realm wandering the earth as solid beings freaks me out. I'm a real piece of work, aren't I?"

" Nah, Besides the fact that you seem to be wallowing in self pity or something I think you're reacting pretty well." Rain jumped to her feet in surprise before recognizing the speaker's fair hair and violet eyes. A slight flash of fear shot through her body before she regained her common sense. A knowing look spread across Malik's handsome face as he gave her a moment, before Rain's stunned surprise turned to a happy grin.

"Malik! How are the plans to return to Egypt going?"

"Not bad, my sister left earlier than expected, her flight left yesterday, I was supposed to catch another flight later on in the week, but due to the strange weather conditions and bizarre happenings around the world, they've grounded all flights until further notice unless absolutely necessary. So I guess I'll be hanging around longer than expected." He smirked, "Lots of time to hang out, huh." Rain giggled,

"I guess so. At least you aren't stuck hanging out at the airport."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing all alone in the middle of a park by yourself while there are shadow creatures running around? I mean, from what I've witnessed, the pharaoh is pretty protective of you so I thought you'd be hidden away under lock and key or something with some of these creatures causing as much havoc as they were earlier." Rain groaned,

"You really think he'd be able to keep me under lock and key?" Malik shrugged,

"No, probably not. Bakura would probably bust you out." Rain scowled at the mention of Bakura,

"I don't know, depends on if he's pissed at me for some reason or another or not. Sometimes he acts like I'm a mere annoyance that he tolerates." a softer smile crossed Malik's lips, a rare one.

"You two have a fight?" At Rain's raised brow he chuckled, "I suppose I should say did you two piss each other off more than you normally do?" Rain sat back down on the bench, patting the space beside her for him to take a seat as well, she leaned back and stared up at the sky for a moment. Things had obviously calmed down, the birds were flitting about once more and there was a lovely cool breeze. She sighed softly.

"No…well…not really, he just acts like the three thousand year old tomb robber he is and I take offence to some of the things he says because I was brought up in a much different world this time around. I tend to forget that he's technically from a totally different time period."

"…What's it like?"

"Hm?"

"Having memories of a past life come back to you. Ever since I found out that you and the spirit of the ring of all people were the power of balance I've wondered about it. Do you remember things in detail? Or do they just sort of flash by?"

Rain leaned forward and tapped her chin with a forefinger. "They usually only come back as I sleep, and can be completely random. The detail varies with the memory, more intense memories seem to stand out more so than others, some I really hate because I find myself so immersed in the past that it feels like it's all happening again. Waking up from those is the worst, I haven't had anything come back lately though. It…feels strange really, because I feel as though I've been places and done things that I have never really done."

"I see. I thought the memories from both lives would crowd your brain or something."

"No, not that I've noticed, I think I subconsciously shove them aside unless I need to remember something important." They were blanketed by a confortable silence for a few minutes before Malik chose to speak once more.

"Why don't you tell me the things that have been troubling you? There's something extra bothering you. It's the least I can do for you after all the pain I caused you during battle city."

" I can't say you're the most open person Malik, why should I truly open up to you? What if I just don't want to tell everyone all of my business?" Rain winced, that had come out a little more harshly than intended.

A dark expression clouded the tomb keeper's face "I want to see if I can help you, I owe it to you, and I see you as a friend. As you can probably see I don't exactly have friends due to the mistakes I've made in the past. I'm shocked that you can even look at me after what almost happened."

"Battlecity… The things he did…That wasn't you Malik."

"Either way, even before he took over my body, I did some pretty terrible things to a lot of people. I was twisted in my own right, I still threatened you…"

"Malik, I know things that happened to you when you were young…Plus having a monster influencing you for years, contributed to the way you turned out. I know there is good in you so I am very willing to be your friend."

"Keh…Well, as your friend, I want to know what's bothering you."

"…I don't want to burden you with my problems." He chuckled softly.

"Will I ever get it out of you?"

"Not at the moment, no." A smile graced Rain's lips as she spoke, showing him that she was ok.

"Alright then, I'll give it a rest for now…your so stubborn. Just know that if you do need someone to talk to, someone that won't assume everything is Bakura's fault the moment you begin speaking, all you have to do is call me."

After a small moment of silence, Rain gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Thank you Malik. Same goes for you if you ever need my help with anything, you're a good person." He gave a slightly bitter sounding laugh.

"I think that's a first."

"Huh?"

"I don't think anyone has ever told me I'm a good person before."

"Well, you were kind of a super villain bent on world domination for a while there, but you've changed Malik." At his disbelieving look Rain shook her head, "No, really. You have, your mind is no longer clouded by evil or lies, you finally found out what really happened when you were a child and it's made you a better person." Malik shrugged, leaning forward and staring down at the ground.

" Well, I don't want revenge anymore… but I still can't say I like the pharaoh. I still lived a rough life and had my back carved up all in the name of a dead man. I'm going to finish my duty to him, then move on with my life. Maybe I'll even have a family some day."

"I understand, you don't have to like the pharaoh Malik." The two friends sat in silence for a few more minutes, both reflecting on the past. Rain finally broke the silence when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, I'm assuming your family has a lot of ancient texts laying around, right? Like spell books and stuff?" Malik nodded slowly,

"Yeah, we do. Why do you ask?"

"Is there any way you could help me look through some?"

"I'm guessing you don't want me to ask for an explanation?"

"I'll tell you why when the time comes. I'm sure you'd likely figure out most of it on you own though." There was a moment of contemplative silence before Malik nodded slowly.

"You're welcome to come see our ancient texts any time you wish. I'll have to stay by your side the whole time but you can look through them as long as you're careful." He smirked. "You _are_ the pharaoh's sister after all, reincarnated or not."

Rain was about to thank him when there was a sudden loud scream and a brilliant green flash extending to the sky, they met each other's eyes and both jumped to their feet and ran back to where Bakura had been dueling. The sight that met their eyes made Malik gasp slightly, Rain just shook her head. Bakura was standing facing away from them, staring down at the prone body of what used to be his opponent.

"I'm assuming you won." In the fading light Bakura's hair seemed to glimmer like snow as he spun around to face them, brow arched. Rain was slightly mesmerized for a moment before he opened his sarcasm laced mouth.

"No, I just still have my soul because I'm special." Rain rolled her eyes,

"You're such a dick." Bakura ignored her retort and focused on Malik, eyes narrowing in a glare.

"What are you doing here tomb keeper, shouldn't you be back in your hole in the ground?"

"It's no business of yours, thief."

"It is when you're hanging around my woman."

"Excuse me?" They both looked at Rain, she blushed. "I'm my own woman thank you very much mister cave man."

"Cave man?" Bakura was wearing that smirk of his again. Damn him. Before he could say anything that it looked like he was thinking of saying, Malik pointed out the body still on the ground at Bakura's feet.

"So, is he dead?"

"No, he used some sort of magic during the duel in hopes to take my soul and it backfired when he lost the game." Bakura turned to poke at the man with the tip of his shoe. "It's really too bad, I had been hoping I would be able to send him to the shadow realm but he beat me to it." Rain shivered.

"So…should we just leave his body here?" Bakura tilted his head to the side, then his smirk widened.

"No, I have a better idea. I may not have taken his soul, but I can still lock his body in the shadow realm." He cackled and the sennen ring flashed, the man was swiftly devoured by shadows and Rain looked away. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him even if he'd tried to steal her boyfriends soul.

"So you said he was using magic?" Malik asked, Bakura nodded.

"Yes. It's what caused the light show I'm sure you witnessed. He called it the seal of orechalcos. It seems to have a number of powers. It could strengthen his monsters and seal the soul of whomever was to lose the game." He paused for a moment, then scooped up something off the ground. "I believe there is a connection between this item and the card which he used." Rain glanced down as he opened his fist to produce a glowing crystal on a chain. Malik peered at it with interest.

"That's interesting. I've never seen something like this before…not even in the texts." Rain cleared her throat.

"That's because it pre-dates ancient Egypt by a few thousand years at least." Both males gave her a questioning look, to which she continued. "The civilization was lost a long time ago, about ten thousand years actually, have either of you ever heard of atlantis?"

"There was a special on it on the television in honor of some archealogical find recently."

"Well, a man known as Arthur Hawkins found it. These people using these crystals are gathering souls so that they can awaken the great leviathon, long story short they're trying to destroy the world as we know it and Yugi and the others are going to have to go save the world…again." Both boys stared at her.

"So…how exactly do you know all this?" Rain blushed slightly at Malik's question.

"Um…well, I just…do?" Bakura rolled his eyes,

"Believe me, you don't want to know Malik." The tomb robber rubbed the back of his neck and turned away, "Well, Rain we should get going. Unless you plan on standing here all night, If that's the case I can just leave you to it." Rain looked up, realizing the sun had pretty much set and the stars were now out and twinkling above. How long had they been there? She looked at Malik,

"Bakura and I are probably spending the night at a hotel or something because a giant duel monster wrecked the apartment. I hope we can charge the building for our stay because it's really not our fault we can't be there."

"Hm…well, you're welcome to stay with me. I have a really big suite with two bedrooms, and since I'm the only one here right now there's no one else in my hotel room."

"No. I already know where we are going." Rain scowled at Bakura's rudeness, but a knowing look entered Malik's eye.

"Ok, I figured as much." He tossed Bakura a set of keys, which was promptly pocketed. "I might as well give you permission to house yourselves in my boat for the time being, as you were going to break in and use it anyway." A smirk crossed Bakura's face,

"Well, that just sucks all the fun out of it."

"H-How did you know what he was planning to do? I had no idea…" Malik shrugged, a small grin on his face.

"Just a hunch I guess." His grin widened, "Well, I'm going to head back to the hotel, you guys don't make too much of a mess…" Rain waved as he turned and headed off, a moment later Bakura grabbed her hand and pulled her along through the park. She decided not to comment on being pretty much dragged away and chose to study him instead. Her eyes where drawn to his silvery hair shining in the moonlight, accenting his pale features and the sharp contours of his face. He was staring determinedly ahead with his crimson tinted eyes, she wondered what was going on in his mind. _He's almost like a sculpture of ice and snow. Beautiful and cold, but with sharp dangerous edges. A dagger of ice. _She shook herself when his eyes turned on her.

"What are you thinking?" His gruff voice drew her further from her thoughts and her lips spread into a smile, while her cheeks reddened slightly from being caught staring so intently.

"Nothing really…Just zoning out." He chuckled,

"So you like what you see?" Now there was a full blown blush, and Rain looked away, choosing to face forward.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to will the blush away rather unsuccessfully and changed the subject. "Sooo…How far exactly is this boat?"

"About an hour." He glared at her "You start whining about it and I'll cause you unfathomable pain." Rain shut her mouth against a nearly formed complaint about walking the whole way and eyed him warily. This was going to be a long night.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Seto Kaiba twitch. Then twitched again, causing Anna to lay her hand on his arm.

"You know you could just let Roland do the whole 'speak to the media' thing, right?" Mokuba nodded in agreement, pouting slightly when Seto shook his head.

"No, I'm doing it. I've been watching Roland deal with those damn reporters all day. I already made the announcement that I would hold the press conference myself and would answer no further questions." Anna sighed, wishing there was something she could do for the elder Kaiba brother. After the first instance of the appearance of the duel monsters Kaiba had been hounded relentlessly by the press who were convinced that Kaiba Corp had something to do with the situation. This _world wide_ situation. How people thought that Kaiba Corp was responsible for a world wide event she did not understand.

"Well…I'm going to stay and watch, ok?"

"Do what you want Adina." Anna gasped, feeling strangely lightheaded.

"What did you just say?"

"I said. Do what you want Anna. If your hearing is impaired I have excellent doctors that can take a look at you if required." The girl blushed deeply and shook her head.

"I-um…Sorry…My hearing's fine." He nodded, while Mokuba just stared at her with a slightly worried expression. Anna was shaking, She felt as though she'd had a much similar conversation with Seto before, which made no sense…and she'd heard him say Adina…was she losing her mind? Did Rain feel like this all the time? She hoped not, it was kind of unnerving.

"Are you ok Anna?" She looked at Mokuba and smiled down at him.

"I'm fine sweetie, I'm just a little tired that's all." He judged her for a moment before nodding before taking a seat in the corner of the room and opening his laptop. _He is so much like his brother sometimes. Right to the computer._ She watched as Seto gave her a look before extending his hand to her.

"You said you wanted to watch. Why don't you come with me? Just don't speak or you're fired." Anna took in the extended hand for a moment before reaching out at taking it, hoping the burning in her cheeks wasn't the blush she was trying to keep from her face upon the contact.

"Ok…I'll be quiet." She smiled at him and a tiny quirk of his lips went unnoticed by all but his brother, who grinned at the two as they walked from the room and into the noise just out the doors. Anna watched the CEO as he smoothly dealt with the reporters even with all the chaos of constant questions bombarded them. She admired his coolness and knew that she would never be able to do his job. Thinking back on the last little while, she had to fight not to let a huge grin sneak it's way onto her face. Living his mansion sure was interesting. Having breakfast with the Kaibas was beyond her wildest dreams, yet here she was. At a press conference with Seto Kaiba, watching the proceedings from right beside him introduced as his assistant. Yep, that's what he was telling the media to keep them from guessing about any relationship he might have with her. She wondered if someday, the nonexistent relationship would be reality, though she knew not to keep her hopes up. He was a very busy man and she was sure he had no time for relationships. Her thoughts turned to Rain, she wondered what her best friend was up to…The poor girl had a much less pleasant time here than Anna had and she felt a little guilty for not being there for Rain when she'd been needed most. Rain…The villain magnet. She wondered what exactly Rain had been hiding from her, it was always too obvious that she'd been seriously bothered by something and Anna was very worried after their brief phone conversation. When they met next she was going to force every drop of information out of her friend if it killed her. She needed to know what was going on in Rain's life because what she did know wasn't good. The permanent connection to the thief king couldn't be good for her health, the fact that she apparently had crazy strong feelings for the guy made it even worse, She had to be at least a little mentally scarred by everything that had happened with Marik during battle city. Anna had just been sent to the shadow realm and spent the whole time talking with Ryo and being glared at by Bakura and she'd found the experience terrifying. Rain seemed to be trying to forget the whole event entirely…She hoped Rain would be ok when everyone went off to go up against this new evil, and that Bakura behaved himself. _If he decides to molest her I swear I'll find a way to extract him from Ryo and have him exercised! _

"That about sums things up, there is no possible way that my technology is behind these holographic disturbances. It has to be something else." Anna forced herself back to reality just as Seto finished his speal and turned to walk back inside as a couple bodyguards held back the mob of reporters, she ran after him and they made their way out the other side of the building through a secret staff only exit and into a sedan waiting for them. She collapsed onto the seat next to Seto as Mokuba crawled in behind her.

"That was…interesting." Seto ran a hand through his hair in a way Anna couldn't help but find impossibly sexy.

"It was irritating and a giant waste of my time." Mokuba chuckled.

"So it stressed you out big brother?"

"It takes a lot more that a few silly reporters to stress me out Mokuba." The young boy just smiled. Anna giggled a little before leaning back in the seat and staring at the ceiling.

"So, what's next?"

"Home. Then bed for Mokuba. We'll find out more about those holograms tomorrow."

A small jingling caused Anna to pull her phone from her pocket. A new text from Yugi. A smile flitted across her features as she read the message.

"Looks like I'll probably be having a very busy day tomorrow…" At Seto's questioning look Anna showed him her phone. "Apparently there is more world saving to be done Mr. Kaiba." He groaned when she let out a small laugh.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Rain almost cried with relief when the two of them reached the Malik's boat in the harbor about an hour later. She was sick of wandering the city. She was taken by surprise when she felt two hands on her waist as Bakura lifted her up onto the deck, she watched as he jumped up after her with amusement.

"You do know that since Malik gave us permission to be here we could have just gotten on in a normal way? Or do you just like breaking and entering so much you had to pretend?"

He shot her a dirty look and didn't bother to answer much to Rain's entertainment. As she opened her mouth to speak again, he swiftly pulled her against him and slammed his mouth onto her own, proceeding to dominate her senses in what a tiny part of her mind recognized as a near violent show of possession. She was left gasping in a state of confusion and lust as he slowly pulled away from her, staring at her with darkened eyes.

"You talk far too much for my liking. I'd much rather hear other noises coming from your lips." She blushed as the comment registered.

"You…You are such a pervert!" He chuckled and steered her into the boat with a hand on her lower back.

"You are both entertaining and enticing when I have you blushing."

"You sir, are being very creepy right now and it's kind of freaking me out." He nipped her ear causing her skin to tingle slightly, Rain almost stumbled as he led her to a small bedroom. "Hey, this thing has more than one bedroom right?"

"Probably…but we, my dear, are sleeping in this one."

"W…WE?" She whirled to face him, blushing brightly. "I think I'm going to go find a couch to sleep on." He gave her an I-don't-think-so look and the door to the room slammed shut, making her flinch before staring in surprise.

"Since when could you do that?"

"Oh what do you know…Something Rain didn't know." He had a positively wicked expression on his face as he backed her up against the bed until she was forced to sit. "We are…_finally_ alone, where nothing should be able to disturb us." He pushed her onto her back and kissed her softly. Rain sighed into the kiss, relaxing into the sensation, after a moment he pulled back and looked her over, tracing the neckline of her shirt with a finger, making her shiver.

"Bakura…you know we can't really do this. It's Ryo's body you're in, so it really wouldn't be fair to him at all if you-"

"Rain. You think too much."

"But-"

"It's been three thousand years woman. I've waited long enough, don't you agree?" She couldn't really argue that one…And there was no way she would be able to get him to understand her moral issues with the whole 'Possessing the reincarnation and doing god knows what with the body.' thing…And the things his hands were starting to do to her body were making her thoughts become muddled. What was she thinking about again? A shiver went through her he gently nipped her neck where her pulse jumped wildly.

"I…ughh…but…" She had no idea how he'd done it, but suddenly she found herself bare of her shirt with his nimble fingers working on her bra clasp. "Bakura…" She could feel his hot breath on her shoulder as he explored her skin with his tongue.

"Stop. Thinking." He growled out as her bra now came off. He glared at the contraption before tracing his way down to her breasts, a small smirk on his face as he leaned down to capture a hardened nipple. A small gasp escaped Rain's lips at his attentions, all thoughts forgotten as heat began pooling in her belly. His hands were busy too, working on her pants now, it wasn't long before she had kicked the garment off. After a moment she gave a slight tug on his hair and, at his light glare, waved a hand at him.

"I think…you're over dressed oh, king of thieves." His glare turned into an evil grin before he swiftly removed his shirt and his pants, proving to Rain that apparently he didn't wear anything underneath. A hot blush spread across her face as he caught her oggling his now completely bare body. _Jeez…He's um…wow…_

"Like what you see?" He teased before pouncing on her again, fiery lust in his eyes. "Because I do." He kissed her, no, he _claimed_ her mouth, mapping out every bit of her as his dominance overpowered hers. Hands scalded their way down her body, and she nearly jumped when something cool traced her hip before Bakura literally cut her panties from her body. His mouth left hers as he leaned back, waving a small dagger at her before throwing it behind him and impaling a small cabinet. He winked when she scowled at him.

"You killed my underwear." A smirk.

"I don't have any other pairs right now." Bigger smirk.

"I suppose you'll just have to go without for now, hm?" He purred out, before leaning down and tracing the contours of her stomach with a finger, followed by his mouth. A strange mix between a gasp and a moan escaped the woman under him as his fingers began to explore her sex, revelling in her soft flesh. He bit back a groan as he slid a finger into her, his body wanted him to just get on with it, but he had other plans. He wanted to have her begging for him. He leaned forward before meeting her eyes over her body, Rain raised a brow at him.

"I haven't tasted you here yet." His whisper reached her ears just as she felt his tongue run along her most private place.

"ooooohhhh shit…" She knew she was done for now, and as he suddenly found that sensitive hidden jewel, she once again lost all higher thought, gasping at the sensations that ran through her body from that epicenter. As he nipped and licked and sucked, she could feel something coiling within her like a spring, he held her down as her body thrashed beneath his ministrations, smirking against her sex when she cried out and tensed suddenly, muscle spasms overtaking her as he gave her release. Rain was left a gasping, quivering pile of goo as he worked his way up her body once more, taking her lips with his own. He touched his forehead to hers and whispered with a small grin.

"One." At her slightly confused expression, he chuckled, then huskily elaborated, "I'm going to see how many times I can make you cum." She was already flushed, but the crimson blush still shone through at his words. She suddenly found herself looking down at his prominent erection, reaching to touch him when he stilled her hand, and lifted it above her head she once again found herself confused.

"Next time you can do whatever you like, but this time it's all about you." She couldn't help but start at his words, never before seeing him so…focused on another person's enjoyment. He shrugged when she opened her mouth to respond, knowing what was on her mind.

"After the hell you've been through my dear, I want this to be a good memory for you. One that will stand out past the bad." Tears flooded to her eyes as Rain wrapped her arms around him, he let her hug him close for a moment before kissing her shoulder lightly and putting his lips to her ear.

"We should get back to business dear, as I'm finding things a little uncomfortable." She laughed, noting he was still fully erect and his entire posture seemed stiff, as though he was holding back from just throwing her down and having his way with her. She knew being all romantic, sweet and mushy was not in his nature, so she truly appreciated how sweet he was being moments before.

"Ok." She smiled as he kissed her lips once more and laid her down on the bed. It wasn't long before heat was once again pooling deep within her as he entered her with a couple fingers to get her used to the sensation, as he withdrew and entered a third she stiffened slightly, before relaxing against him as he continued preparing her. She knew that was what he was doing, though she had no idea it could be this pleasurable. He was once again tasting her breasts, enjoying her little gasps of pleasure as his tongue traced a nipple before he playfully nipped it with his teeth, just before she had her second orgasm of the night he removed his fingers and she almost whimpered in protest before feeling something much larger at her entrance. She couldn't help it when her whole body unconsciously tensed. He placed a hand on her cheek and she met his eyes.

"Relax." He stated gruffly. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes…I know you won't hurt me on purpose." She whispered.

"It will only hurt for a moment."

"I know. Just do it, please Akefia." He was startled when the name he hadn't been called by in a millenia came through her lips, but only for a moment. Her slight cry of pain was swallowed by his mouth as he swiftly sheathed himself fully in her body before holding still to let her adjust to the intrusion. She clung to him, a lone tear falling down her cheek. He stroked her sides gently for a moment before she wiggled slightly to let him know she was fine. That was all it took, as he withdrew and slammed into her once more, that damnable smirk on his face. A moan left her lips when he hit something within her that made her see stars, and soon enough all thoughts of pain left her as she tried to meet him thrust for thrust. She noticed he seemed to still be holding back, so as she ran her nails down his back she whispered.

"Let go, I won't break 'kura." His lips crashed against her own before his thrusts got harder and faster, bordering on violent. He nipped at her throat as she cried out,

"Oh…Oh gods…Bakura" A few more and she was on fire, "Please…" The ache grew…and with a suddenness that surprised her, she exploded. She came with a screaming release, the clenching of her muscles triggering his as they both cried out into the night. Later Rain couldn't help but wonder if anyone on the docks had heard them, but at that moment in time, when her ancient lover collapsed beside her, pulling her limp body into his arms, she only thought of how much she loved him before pulling the blankets over them both,

"Two." She chuckled at his quiet, but proud whisper before they both faded into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

…...

Anna scowled at her cellphone, which had woken her from her sleep only a short time after she had actually made it to bed. Who the hell was calling her at this hour? She picked it up and pressed talk.

"Hello." She bit out,

"Hey Anna, how's it going?" She blinked in surprise.

"Malik? It was going great til you woke me up." She grumbled, he chuckled lightly in response,

"Sorry, I can't help it. I was bored, and I figure Rain won't answer if I call her, so I called you instead." It took Anna a moment to absorb the fact that he woke her just because he was bored.

"Wait…Why won't Rain pick up? She's probably still awake knowing her…the bloody night owl."

"Ummm…Well, since she and Bakura are most likely both in my boat…alone…due to their home being partially destroyed…I'm going to assume they are quite busy." Anna's eyes widened momentarily.

"You did _not_ just imply what I thought you implied."

…...

OK. I wrote the lemon…It probably wasn't any good as I've never wrote one before, buuut I tried…I also tried to keep it from being super descriptive or anything. I also know Bakura was quite out of character, but I figured that was ok given the circumstances. He's going to have to change anyway over time, but I won't change him too much, he'll still always be somewhat crazy, well…Bakura. Also, again, sooo sorry I vanished for so long. Life called, I suppose I could say. Anyway, I'm back J


	16. Chapter 16

Muhahahahahahahaha! Yes. This is totally what you think it is. Two chapters. In less than a month. No, I haven't been abducted by aliens I swear! Though I may or may not have been tied to my computer chair and forced to type for hours on end by and angry magical imp that I accidentally stepped on…Ok, moving on. -Glares at imp…Then Bakura, who is laughing in the corner.- I've had a sudden bout of inspiration! -cackles- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other thing I may mention except for Anna and Rain. This chapter was brought to you by the ridiculous amount of caffeine in my system ^^ Also, There's kind of another lemon right at the beginning of this chapter. I figure Bakura is the perfect closet pervert, since he hasn't gotten laid in a few thousand years lol.

...anyway, On with the chapter!

Chapter 16: best friend's tempers are a force to be reckoned with…

Rain woke quite suddenly the next morning, glaring at the cell phone which dared to interrupt her peaceful sleep. A quick glance to the time re-enforced her reason for glaring as it was only four thirty in the morning. Who the hell gets up at four thirty in the morning? She grabbed the phone from the bedside table and quickly answered it.

"Ugh…Hullo?"

"Rain! Have you looked outside?"

"Anna? No, I was sleeping…like a normal person."

"Oh, well, There is something very strange going on!"

"Okay." A moment of silence passed, during which Rain felt a hand on her hip, which she realized belonged to the tomb robber currently giving her a questioning look. She shrugged at him. "Please elaborate Anna." She grumbled, blushing slightly when Bakura leaned over and kissed her shoulder. She had finally noticed they were both still quite naked. The blush intensified.

"Well, there's all this light in the sky, and there's a big crystal in the sky that's pulsing and breaking apart a little…."

"Anna, did you forget this is supposed to happen? Yugi is probably already dealing with it with that dragon…what-it's-name."

"Timaeus."

"Right…" Rain shivered as she felt lips on her throat. "knock it off!" She whispered harshly, elbowing him slightly only to get an amused smirk in response.

"Am I making things difficult for you?" He asked huskily with thinly veiled amusement, eyes smoldering.

"Rain, was that the tomb robbers voice I heard?"

"Um No!…R-Ryo just heard me talking from the next room and came in to see what I was doing." Bakura's hand migrated below the blanket, slowly lifting it off of her form and Rain failed to hold back the small squeak when he suddenly grabbed her ass.

"What the…what was that?" Then a moment of silence, "Aw man, if that bastard of yours just groped you or something I'm coming over there with a bible!" Rain's surprise overrode the tingling feeling being caused by her lover's hands as he lightly traced his fingertips down her stomach. She wiggled and quickly got off the bed in order to continue thinking straight, glaring over at him while she continued to speak on the phone. Her face stayed crimson at the thought of just standing there naked, but she had a feeling if she tried to grab a sheet off the bed or something he'd just grab her.

"A bible? What in the world would that do?"

"I'll use it to exercise him!"

"Uh…Huh…"

"If that fails, I could always hit him with it."

"Anna…That's a horrible miss-use of the bible of all things, also…You don't even know where we are!"

"You're in Malik's boat."

"Wait, what?" Rain's confusion was evident in her voice. "The hell, how did you know?"

"Malik got bored last night so he told me that's where you guys would be staying. I also noticed you didn't deny Bakura groping you. Does this mean I get to kill him?"

"No! Keep being so mean and I'll tell Kaiba you love him or something! Agh!" She couldn't help but yelp slightly when, after shooting her a rather predatory look the tomb robber lunged across the bed, shoving her against the back of a small chair from behind. Rain bit back a moan when she felt two fingers slip into her, she glared over her shoulder at Bakura, who just grinned at her before nibbling on her back.

"We'll see how long you can try to ignore me darling…" His whisper almost too quiet to hear. A sudden intake of breath, she shivered slightly, still trying to focus on the phone.

"You wouldn't dare!" Anna sounded rather outraged,

"I…ugh…You don't know that."

"Rain…You sound distracted, did you finally check out the sky? Cause now there's a giant eye."

"No…I haven't checked the sky, There's ummm…no point." She gasped in shock when Bakura suddenly gripped her hips and sheathed himself to the hilt within her, pushing down on her back to keep her bent over the chair. "Holy shit!"

"Now do you see what I mean?" Anna's voice in her ear brought her back to reality. She grit her teeth and tried to ignore the fact that she was currently in the most compromising position she had _ever_ been in. That stupid jerk! She tried not to make any noise when he withdrew and slammed into her again.

"Ugh…sure, whatever. I…uhh…Really have to go. The kitchen's on fire, bye!" Rain quickly hung up and proceeded to grip the chair for dear life, throwing her phone on the floor as Bakura rammed into her swiftly, the sounds of flesh on flesh prominent in her ears along with his groans and whispers of pleasure. She moaned, pushing back against him as he thrust into her with vigor.

"Oh gods…" She cried out when he hit that place that made fireworks explode behind her eyelids, whimpering slightly at the intensity of the sensations she was feeling. " Baku…ra…faster…" She cried and he obliged. They both came relatively quickly, she was left shaking, her legs having been turned to jello by the intensity of their coupling. The young woman was relieved when the tomb robber's strong arms wrapped around her waist as he helped her back over to the bed, which she promptly collapsed upon. His chuckle brought her out of her daze and after a moment or two, Rain rolled over and gave him her best evil glare. Bakura merely raised a brow and smirked.

"What?" He asked, in a mockery of innocence. She rolled her eyes,

" You're such a jerk. We can only hope Anna doesn't figure out why I was so distracted…And because of that little stunt of yours I'm never going to be able to talk on the phone without blushing ever again."

He leaned back with his hands behind his head, a smug grin on his face. "Good." Rain growled, then hopped up from the bed, grabbing her clothes which were scattered around the room. She tried to ignore the way the tomb robber's eyes were following her every movement, choosing to glare at her ruined panties before going into the adjoining room to have a quick shower, one look at her body in the mirror had her face practically flaming.

"Good lord…there's no way I can hide this." She took in the love bites on her neck, and the others randomly placed on her torso. She couldn't help but smile at the memory of how they got there though, she would have never thought he would be so wonderful to her. He'd been so…_caring_. Yes, she felt bad that it was Ryo's body he was in, but…She figured it was different for a guy. Ryo hadn't been present…So that meant he was definitely still a virgin, in her mind anyway, and his body seemed to change a bit when Bakura was in control anyway…She sighed, _I'll never understand the magic of the ring, so I might as well not think about it…I won't mention anything to Ryo either, unless he brings something up. Then I'll apologize._ She took her five minute shower and got dressed, giving one last look to those destroyed panties before proceeding to throw them into the refuse bin. She then strode back into the bedroom, glancing to the bed to glare at Bakura, running her fingers through her hair as she did so, a blush once again on her face when she realized he was still naked. Eyes averted, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Are you going to get dressed any time soon?" She questioned.

"Of course, I just figured I'd be a gentleman and let you have the shower first." He seemed entertained by her shyness. "You know, you saw everything last night, don't know why you suddenly can't look at me."

"Right…Well, It's not like I'm used to seeing hot naked men lounging around…"

"Hmmm… lovely to know you think I'm 'hot' my dear." He purred, giving her a once over. "Too bad you're dressed already, we no on longer match." At that her face heated further, likely doing an excellent impression of a tomato.

"Uh… huh. I'm actually kind of surprised that you didn't try to follow me into the bathroom." He grinned.

"I thought about it, but figured you'd be sore so I gave you a little break." Rain silently thanked the gods, because she really _was_ quite sore. She only hoped no one noticed that she was walking a little funny today, it would make for a very awkward conversation. "Though," She was cut from her thoughts by his voice as he made his way to the bathroom. "You're very welcome to follow _me_ into the shower. I won't stop you." He chuckled at what had to be the thousandth blush that spread across her cheeks. When the bathroom door closed behind him and she heard the shower start running Rain plopped down in the bed, staring off into space.

"Gods, I've created a monster." She mumbled. "Damn horny ancient Egyptian…" Then her eyes widened slightly. "Holy crap I actually had sex with Yami Bakura in Malik's boat! If someone had told me that would happen a few months ago I would have just laughed my ass off and told them they read too much fan fiction…" The girl jumped to her feet when she heard a sudden knocking on the door, followed by what sounded like a key being shoved into the lock. She walked down the hall to said door and pulled it open, raising a brow when both her best friend and Malik tumbled inside from the deck. She noted briefly that the sun was beginning to rise, it had to be about five thirty by now…before turning her attention back to her friends.

"Uh…Hi guys." Anna glared at her, before getting up off the floor and extending a hand to Malik, helping him up.

"Hi girl that likes to hang up on her best friend." Malik chuckled.

"Sorry Anna, I was going to call you back." Rain sighed as Malik led the girls past the bedroom to another random room that looked like some sort of sitting area. Complete with a big screen TV. Rain winced slightly as she walked, quickly sitting down on the chair closest to the entrance of the room while Anna and Malik both sat on the couch across from her. Malik had a strange look on his face for a moment, before shaking his head at her, much to her confusion.

"What?"

"I'm so burning the bedding from that room….actually, I might as well just get a new bed. I didn't much like that one anyway." Anna glanced between the two, taking in Rain's now crimson face for a moment before gasping.

"Rain! Tell me he didn't molest you!" She noticed the marks of Rain's neck and groaned. "Please tell me you just made out or something."

"Hey, I didn't know a human being could turn quite that red." Malik murmured, sounding mildly entertained. The blushing girl gave him a dirty look before glaring pointedly at her best friend.

"Anna, you mind not grilling me right _now_?"

"Oh, hello." All three people in the room turned to find the source of the polite voice. Ryo stood there, looking mildly puzzled. " Where are we?" Rain frowned, puzzled. What the hell? Did Bakura think he could just ditch her to be interrogated by her friends like that? The bastard sure was lucky he could hide in that damn magical piece of jewelry…

"We're on my boat. Bakura and Rain were staying here while your apartment is being repaired." At Malik's explanation he nodded, taking a seat in the only other chair in the room, next to Rain's. She glanced his way, then quickly turned away. This was too weird, why the hell had Bakura just randomly abandoned her? She was going to find a way to seriously injure the bastard when he popped up again. She didn't realize she had a scowl on her face until Ryo spoke up.

"Hey, are you alright Rain? The spirit didn't do anything horrible did he? You seem upset."

"Oh," Rain forced herself to look over at him, she smiled a small smile, "No, he made me mad earlier in the evening, but I wasn't angry for long. I tend to forget how often he puts his foot in his mouth."

"He does have a…harsh personality."

"That's a huge understatement." Anna muttered. Rain rolled her eyes,

"He's not that bad. Hey Anna, could you get me a drink? I'm really thirsty." Anna gave her a 'seriously?' look, then waved a hand at the small mini fridge in the far corner of the room.

"You can get it yourself, I'm not your slave." Rain pouted,

"You know, I could totally pull rank on you!" Anna grinned,

"Try it. I still won't get up princess." Rain slowly stood up and made her way across the room, focusing really hard in walking normally, cursing Bakura in her head the whole way. _I bet that jerk decided to have a little nap…Ra knows I wouldn't mind going back to bed…_ She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made her way back to her seat, sighing with relief once made herself comfortable.

"Hey Rain, are you alright?" Anna gave her a concerned look, "You were limping."

"Ugh…No I'm fine. Just a little sore from walking across domino yesterday." Malik burst out laughing, making Rain glare in his direction.

"yeah, that's _exactly_ why you're sore."

"Shut up Malik, you're being a stupid pervert." Rain grumbled. He chuckled,

"I didn't actually say anything…"

"….Asshole."

"Well, if you're this cranky in the morning, he obviously didn't do his job right. I'll gladly show you how it's done Rain darling." Anna snorted, while Rain just rolled her eyes.

"You're rather…egotistical today." The handsome tomb keeper shot her a sexy smirk.

" I'm just saying you only deserve the best, and I am most definitely the best." Rain flushed scarlet. _That was really bold… Who has he been hanging out with? Probably Jou…The pervert. Uh oh, I sense…_ Both girls in the room watched, one in surprise, one mildly concerned as Ryo…or rather, a pissed off Bakura lunged across the room and Malik promptly vacated to spot on the couch he'd been sitting in, dodging out of the way of the incoming fist.

"You sniveling little shit!" The angry tomb robber growled out. Rain sighed, forcing the blush down from her flaming face and cursing all handsome Egyptians that seemed to spend a lot of time around her.

"Chill out Bakura, he was joking."

"I don't care."

"Please don't try to kill him." She tried that approach…nope, not working…

"…" Malik smirked over at him, "Someone's a little extra possessive this morning, thief."

" If you Ever think about even implying something of that nature to her again, you will have to pry your balls out of your own throat while cooking in a vat of boiling oil!" _That_ was a disturbing visual…Malik paled slightly and fiddled with his belt loop for a moment before looking slightly depressed, Rain figured it was due to the fact that he no longer had the sennen rod, thus no longer had any protection from Bakura's shadow magic. Rain jumped slightly when Bakura plopped down _beside_ her on the chair, succeeding in squishing her. She jumped up and whirled to glare at him, shoving her finger against his chest.

"Where the hell do you get off threatening_ any_ friend of mine like that? I don't care if he was your former associate, you don't overreact like that to a silly joke!" She whirled back to glare over at Malik, "And you! You should know better than to purposely bait him like that!" She scowled, looking over to Anna, "_Men…_" She snarled, a small wind blowing her hair around her shoulders as she started to walk over to sit with her best friend, who seemed to be acting like the most mature person in the room at the moment. She didn't get far. A tendril of shadows wrapped around her waist and she was yanked back into her chair, right onto a rather pissed off tomb robber. He actually had the nerve to _pinch_ her!

"I can threaten whomever I want, woman. You have no power over me." He growled into her ear, Rain chose not to even respond, stewing in silence as Anna watched the entire display as though she was watching an animal at the zoo. Malik just grinned from the other side of the room,

" Well, the offer is always open Rain!" The girl blushed deeply.

"Ok…You're welcome to kill the pervert Bakura." A random thought occurred to Rain before said tomb robber could get up and beat the daylights out of a certain tomb keeper.

"So, why did you just ditch Ryo here with no idea where we were when these two showed up?" He smirked,

"Well, I know Anna doesn't like me so I figured she would be more comfortable if Ryo was here instead of me…Though when I heard Malik spouting his stupid mouth off I decided I might as well make my presence known." A raised brow.

"You went back to sleep didn't you…"

"Think what you wish wench."

"Ok, whenever you two are done being in your own little world of bickering, I'd really like to talk to Rain before I head off again. I have to meet up with Yugi and the others in a couple hours. I'm sure Malik can keep you company Bakura, you guys have managed so far without killing each other." Bakura glared over at Anna, but released Rain anyway. Anna swiftly grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her from the room, only stopping when they got to the deck outside. Rain leaned against the railing and took a deep breathe, relishing in the scent of the ocean.

"Alright Anna, go ahead." She waved a hand, her best friend didn't waste any time, Anna immediately pointed to Rain's neck.

"What the hell are those Rain?"

"You know what they are Anna."

"Did you…Did you actually have sex with him?"

"…That was very blunt."

"Tell me. I've been worried about you Rain."

"Yes. We did _that_. I figure he's waited long enough…"

"Is…Ryo ok? I mean…it's _his_ body." Rain looked away.

"He'll understand. It's…He's still a virgin…it's not the same as with a girl." She sighed, "He and I talked about it, he knows that if Bakura wants something, he'll take it regardless of the consequences." Anna gasped,

"He didn't…"

"No Anna, don't even think about it. He wouldn't _never_ have forced the issue. He knows I love him, and he was actually very sweet the whole time. Though…I think he's turned into a giant sex starved pervert." Rain blushed slightly. Anna suddenly gasped and shoved her lightly, at Rain's confused expression she gave her best glare.

"This morning! The kitchen wasn't on fire!" Rain sweat dropped.

"Uh…you just thought of that now?"

"Ew Rain. Ew. You…" She cringed as Anna just jabbed her finger at her, blushing.

"Hey, he just decided to maul me ok? It's not my fault halfway through the conversation he-"

"Ah! Don't tell me anymore! I'm already scarred for life!" Anna covered her ears, Rain eyed her for a moment before a small giggle came through her lips,

"The fan girls would murder me if they knew…"

"Well, maybe I'll tell them."

"Bah, like they'd believe you Anna, none of this" Rain waved an arm, smirking. "None of it exists, so I'm totally safe." Her smirk faltered at Anna's pure evil grin.

"Well, I bet if I ever managed to haul you and that mister Bad Ass of yours to a convention in our world you'd still get mauled…not to mention, due to his host's cuteness, there are many fan girls in this realm as well. Muahahahaha!"

"Agh! Ok ok! You win!…I'm sorry for scarring you Anna…" The other girl grinned,

"It's ok. Now…you should really tell me what's had you so down whenever I see you. We haven't really had a proper talk in quite a while and I'm concerned for you. The things you've had to deal with…No one should have to face alone." A sudden melancholy air overtook the two girls, Rain had known this conversation was coming…But she didn't have to like it. With a heavy sigh, Rain spoke quietly,

"Anna…Back on the blimp…Ishizu and I had a small conversation about something she'd seen that she saw fit to warn me about, in the off chance it was true."

"Okay…"

"She told me…That the connection I have with Bakura is probably a hell of a lot more powerful than I thought. The chances are extremely high that if one of us leaves the world of the living, the other will soon follow." Rain looked up to the blue sky as her friend absorbed the information she'd just received.

"So…When Bakura actually goes to hell…Or where ever the gods choose to send him in the end, you'll die too?"

"Yeah…"

"But…That never happened in the past, did it?"

"Things never happened as they should have…He died, but his soul never left. I was still greatly weakened…I was already dying, that's why we all knew I wouldn't make it through the birth of my child. That's why I had been so willing to do a ritual that would kill me anyway. After we…died, Bakura was dormant within the ring for a long time…only waking when the ring passed into Ryo Bakura's hands. We both had already been born at that point, so both sides of the power of balance were technically back. The last step was transferring us back to this world."

"But…Things still aren't as they should be…"

"No…They aren't. I can only guess how the gods are planning on sorting this whole mess out, I can only hope that there is a way to evade what's looking like a very bleak future…At least for he and I." Rain met Anna's eyes, tears tracing down her cheeks contradicting the small smile on her lips. "We aren't the only ones who have been reunited, you have Seto once again. I doubt he knows it, and I'm sure he'll fight it every step of the way but I'm sure he'll remember that he loves you." Anna made a choking noise, before throwing her arms around her best friend and hugging her close.

"Rain…I'm so _so_ sorry. I _swear_, even though I don't like him…I'll do my best to save you _both_." Anna pulled back, her hands on Rain's shoulders, eyes full of determination and hope. "I will _not_ let you die." Rain couldn't help but feel a small burst of love for her friend…no, not just a friend. Her sister. She had renewed hope for the future,

"Thank you Anna."

"Just remember, you have friends who love you, and we'll all be there for you no matter what happens ok? We won't ever abandon you…I won't let you be hurt anymore." A small giggle escaped Rain, causing Anna to give her a look.

"You…Sound just like Anzu. You just gave…" The other girl's eyes narrowed,

"Don't say it."

"A friendship speech! Hahahahaha!"

"I will friendship you to death you know."

"No, you won't because I can still tell Kaiba how much you _love_ him!"

Anna tackled her best friend and mercilessly began to tickle her, that was what the former villain…and well, still current villain saw when they walked into the room a few moments later to collect the girls.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, deep in what we should probably call a cavernous lair…Another villain scowled seemingly at nothing before the scowl became a dark smile,

" The pharoah won't make trouble for me. Oh mighty leviathan, our time will come. By the might of the Egyptian gods you have been reborn, and once I have collected enough souls nothing will stop us. That boy's ability to summon Timaeus is only a minor setback." His dual colored eyes turned to one of his minions, a tall, muscled man by the name of Rafael, the man came forward and kneeled before his master.

"I know what I must do sir. I will find the pharaoh, and will drain him of his power."

"You will need more than just the pharaoh." The other members of the gang strode forward, laying their claim on the pharaoh's friends. Two in particular… Another man in robes rushed forward, holding a card in his hand he slumped to the floor in a clumsy bow.

"S-Sir, I have another soul for you…" The man shivered, "Another one of ours." The leader raised an elegant eyebrow,

"Do you know who beat him?"

"No sir…but, when I went to collect the body, I saw something strange." Dual eyes flashed.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a boy there, he did something…T-there was a flash, and dark mist of some kind sir…Then, the body was just…_gone_…And then the strange boy left with two companions."

"…Hm…Go back to find this boy…watch him and his companions closely and tell me of any new developments. Find out who these people are." The man shivered and ran off, Rafael stared after him, before turning back to his master.

"Do you think we could use this other kid's soul as well?"

"I plan to learn more before I make a move in that direction, though…The fact that he must obviously be a magic user is intriguing…" He shook himself, "Let's just focus on the pharaoh and his little posse, they are the main objective. They should soon be on their way to see the one we've been watching. I advise that you get to him before they do."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

A number of hours after leaving the boat, Anna's cell rang.

"Hello?" Rain watched as her eyes widened slightly,

"Really? Of course I'm coming with you guys! Oh, no, I'm with Rain. I'm sure Kaiba will understand…If not I'll meet you there when ever he decides to head out. Oh, I guess so." She handed Rain the phone, "Yami wants to talk to you." She took the phone and pressed it to her ear, raising a brow when she caught Bakura glaring at the phone with a look that could probably melt metal. At the look she sent him in return he huffed and retreated back into the sennen ring.

"Hey there Pharaoh!"

"Rain. Are you sure you don't wish to stay with us? Even Anna is coming."

"I'm sure…I won't be in any danger here, so you won't have to worry about me."

"Danger still seems to follow you though…" Rain chuckled.

"I think it's worse for you actually…Everyone is out to steal your power and take over the world. I just have a messed up love life and the odd psycho after me…Anyway, I can take care of myself. I _do_ have magic at my disposal, and Ryo has no problem keeping me out of trouble."

"…I still would feel better if you were here with me. Just let me know if anything happens ok?"

"I promise I will. That goes the same for you Brother. You get into a sticky situation, or if anyone gets hurt, you'd better call me."

"Right. Well, I'm going to be meeting Pegasus in America, He sent us a message and it seemed dire. I don't know how long we'll be gone."

"I'll come see you off at the airport. When are you leaving?"

"Bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I'll see you then." Rain clicked the phone shut and handed it back to Anna, the blasted thing rang again the moment it touched her hand, startling them both. Anna blinked at it, then answered slowly.

"Yes Seto?" She frowned after a moment of what sounded like yelling from the other end. "Ok, chill out." More yelling. "Sorry. You sound like you need a hand." Anna's frown deepened. "Ok, I'll be there shortly." A second after the words left her mouth, a dark sedan roared around the corner and skidded to a stop right beside them, making Rain practically leap onto a blushing and surprised Ryo much to Malik's entertainment. Anna shook her head,

"Seriously Seto, you need better drivers. One of these days they are going to end up running me over." She hung up and turned to Rain with an apologetic glint in her eye. "Sorry, Seto is having some serious trouble with those stupid reporters that are determined to place the blame for this whole thing on his shoulders. The man is crazy stressed and I should probably get going before he murders somebody. Not to mention I have to pack to go to America."

"Oh…" Rain was still recovering from the car. She swiftly released Ryo with a murmured apology, a light blush on her own face. "Um…Well, it's probably best that he doesn't have to deal with the crap alone, I understand." After a brief hug, Anna disappeared into the back of the car, Rain backed up from the curb as the blasted thing took off, saying a quick prayer for her friend due to whomever was in the front seat's bad driving skills. After a moment of her staring into space, Malik touched her shoulder.

"I should probably head back to the hotel…See if my sister has called me at all." Rain nodded in understanding, meeting his odd purple eyes.

"Let me know when I can come to see those books….I'm assuming they're all back in Egypt?" He smiled,

"I think a few of the old books are in the museum collection Sister brought over, I'll take a look and let you know…If not, I'll make sure you can come to Egypt as soon as possible."

"The sooner the better Malik." His eyes flickered to their companion before meeting her own once more with surprising intensity.

" Don't think I'm just doing this out of obligation to the pharaoh's sister, I'm doing this, even without asking questions for _you _Rain. I promise, I'll do what I can to help you…Whatever you need me to do." Rain hugged him gently, briefly, before stepping back and smiling.

"Um…Thank you…" She mumbled in return, after Malik had turned his back to her and began walking away. Rain couldn't help but think in that moment, if she hadn't been spiritually glued to the tomb robber for all eternity, If she hadn't been hurt so badly by a monster inhabiting the keeper's body, would she have fallen for Malik instead of her tomb robber? She shook the confusing and impossible thought from her mind as she turned to her white haired friend, Ryo smiled softly at her and she wondered if Bakura had been looking through his eyes…

"So, what do you want to do?" Rain tilted her head to the side in thought,

"Why don't we head back to the apartment, I left all my clothes there because we had to leave in a hurry." Ryo nodded,

"Good idea, I don't have anything to change into either. And we probably want to have toiletries…I have no idea how long it will take to repair the damages…er…How bad are the damages anyway?" Rain cringed.

"well, when we left I almost got killed by falling debris. Luckily Bakura has some crazy fast reflexes…It was…pretty bad Ryo…"

"Oh…I see. How far away are we anyway?" He looked around, "I don't really recognize this neighborhood." Rain looked around too, then heaved a sigh.

"I can honestly say we're lost. I have absolutely no clue where we've walked to."

"Oh…Want to just call a cab? I have enough money for that." At Rain's swift nod (Anything to not have to walk anymore…she was still kinda sore…) He swiftly dialed the number for a cab and then beckoned her to come sit with him on the nearest bus bench as they waited, she couldn't help but sigh in relief as she sat down.

"You alright Rain?" She nodded, then leaned her head against his shoulder as her thoughts raced around her head. Yes, it was a little awkward talking to Ryo…She was sure he knew what had happened between her and the spirit inhabiting his body and she kept expecting him to say something about it…Plus she kept thinking about the look she'd started noticing in Malik's eyes when he was talking to her… She figured he had a bit of a crush on her, though gods knew why… that was ok as long as Bakura didn't assume anything about it. He'd wanted to beat the shit out of him over a joke, so she was sure he'd kill him if he even looked at her with romantic intentions… Especially if he found out that she was even remotely attracted to the tomb keeper, hell she wasn't _dead_, and for a guy who had lived in an underground tomb for most of his life, Malik was really hot. And he'd been really nice to her since battle city… Totally different to who he'd been before the whole thing with Marik. She loved Bakura, more than anything…But a tiny part of her wondered what it would be like, If she truly would still love him, if she wasn't so controlled by her destiny. Of course, the rest of her being knew the answer. It all but screamed a big resounding yes, there was no doubt, destiny or not that she loved the tomb robber.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Ra smirked from his throne, watching the girl from his magnificent boat in the sky. She was confused now, that was completely understandable, but it would pass. "The girl seems to think she had no control over her love life…" He chuckled. " They may be drawn to each other, but the love is their own. We didn't make _that_ happen. Lets see how things shall progress this time…"

" Do you think she really has the power to save him? Since Zorc made his move, I'm not sure if it's enough. She never managed it before…" Horus stepped behind his father, looking down at the looking glass.

"Ah, but my dear boy. This time is different. Far different…If she fails…there will be no hope for him ever again. I never should have let Zorc get his claws on him." Horus peered closer.

"His soul has renewed it's struggle, it appears to be lightening."

"I know. The keeper will help her find what she needs, we may pay her a visit soon." Ra smiled. "She is already assisting her brother, and neither of them know it. I only hope that Zorc doesn't figure it out."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Muhahahahaha! And I plan on having another chapter, likely a longer one, done within the next few weeks. In fact, It's already started. I figure while writing this story, I'll overcome the writer's block that I'm currently suffering from concerning my novel...-glares at notebook with giant block of cement sitting on top- Damn it...Well, at least I'm writing more fanfiction ^^


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone! -waves enthusiastically- I actually had to read through my entire monster of a story again to figure out where the heck I'm going with this thing…it sort of writes itself sometimes lol. So, this is mostly a filler chapter really… A 'Jump around from location to location to see what everyone is doing' chapter… Or something like that. So, I'm going to apologize if all the changing of people and perspectives makes anyone dizzy. I'm trying my best to go along with what happened in the actual show, but also making the changes to account for Anna and Rain…Of course, The story will continue to warp further…trying to keep people in character is a bitch I tell you…

Chapter 17.

" So, what do we do now?"

Rain stretched weary muscles before contemplating the question, Ryo and her had just finished seeing off the rest of the gang at the airport and were now having a quick breakfast at a small diner before heading back to Malik's boat, people were back out on the streets after all the monster scares and no one seemed to be panicking anymore... Well, at least not as much as they had been. There were definitely less people wandering the streets, but some were there regardless. Rain couldn't help but marvel at the way people of this world didn't seem to have any idea that none of the monsters had been holograms. How could you think a hologram could actually destroy buildings? Or send people flying for that matter… It was so obvious there was more to it than images made of lights. No one had any clue the entire world was in danger either for that matter…

"Well, Ryo, we might as well just hang tight for now…I mean, I could really use some peace and quiet. Yugi said he would keep me updated on what's going on over in America, so I'm just going to wait."

"So…We do nothing?" A smiled graced Rain's lips as she took in his mildly confused expression, no one ever did nothing when it came to this group of people.

"Well, I have to work at the game shop this afternoon, and I'm contemplating doing some research later so I wouldn't mind stopping by the library." Ryo sighed, running a hand through his pristine snow white hair, Rain couldn't help but feel bad, he certainly looked stressed out and she really hadn't been much of a help to him. Heck, she was likely part of the cause. Though the state of his apartment probably was a rather large factor to his current mood. She winced slightly, remembering the day before, when they had finally made it back home to retrieve some of their belongings. Ryo had paled considerably at the gaping hole that used to be a wall, eyeing the chucks of plaster and drywall that littered the living room floor as though they were going to come to life and eat him. He'd been silent the entire trip back to the boat, waves of depression wafting off of him as he was forced to accept what had happened.

"I'm sorry Ryo…" Rain muttered, bringing herself back to reality. Ryo's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why?"

She waved a hand absently, "That creature…the apartment…this whole situation we find ourselves stuck in." His brown eyes widened slightly,

"You don't need to be sorry Rain! It's not your fault that some crazy person decided to somehow bring duel monsters to life to wreck havoc upon the world! At least we have somewhere to stay until the construction crews are done fixing everything, all things considered this really could have been a lot worse than it is." Rain stared at him for a moment, wondering briefly if she could borrow some of his attitude, as he was obviously handling things a lot better than she thought he was.

"I suppose you're right…" He grinned,

"Of course I am, so cheer up!" Rain raised a brow, then just rolled her eyes with a smile, Ryo chuckled. " That's better, you light up when you smile Rain, it's like the sun coming out after the storm." The girl blushed slightly, fiddling with a length of her hair. _That was such a sweet thing for him to say! _

"Thank you Ryo…" He nodded, then leaned back in his chair.

"So, what are you planning to research?" With that, Rain leaned forward, a smile now plastered to her face.

"Well, I figured now would be a good time for me to learn more about the past. I _did_ tell you that I'd had a son in a past life right?"

"Yes. I remember, you're going to look him up?"

"Yes…I want to know how his life went, I mean, he was supposed to rule as Pharoah when he got older, so he shouldn't be too difficult to find."

"Hmmm…Well, I spend a lot of time at the library so if you want I can go with you after you finish your shift at the game shop."

Rain thought about it for a moment, she was planning on looking up more than just information about her child, but there was no way she could tell Ryo what else she wanted to figure out considering Bakura was most likely listening in and she couldn't let him learn about her plans to save him from his own master plan. Zorc would probably kill her if he found out that she was going to take his puppet away…Actually, he'd probably kill her either way really…

"yeah, why not…" She would just be extra careful about it and hope for the best.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Anna groaned and clutched at the arm rests as the plane hit another bout of turbulence, she'd always hated flying, she preferred to keep both feet firmly planted on the ground where it was safe….well, lately somewhat safer anyway. She could handle Seto's blimp, because there had been so much going on that she hadn't really even had a chance to even _think_ about the fact that they were thousands of feet in the air. Sharing space with a couple homicidal maniacs could keep one occupied…That and she ended up spending a decent amount of time in the shadow realm. A shiver went through her body at the thought, Anna lifted her hands to rub the goose bumps off her arms, a thought suddenly crossing her mind. _Seto's so pissed at me… Dunno what possessed me to not tell him I was leaving until I was at the airport via text… I bet I have a million text messages and missed calls once we land. _She frowned as her heart gave a little squeeze at the thought if him being upset with her. _But he would never have let me go with the others if I had done this differently. Hell, he's probably mad I'm in one of Industrial Illusions private jets for the trip too, I'm freaking in so much trouble._ Anna sighed, running a hand through her somewhat unruly tresses. Even knowing how mad he'd be a her, she still missed him and jumped slightly when a figure moved to sit in the empty seat next to her.

" You're looking tense." Anna grimaced, noting how the pharaoh seemed incredibly calm and collected.

"And you look way too relaxed, Pharaoh." He chuckled, patting her arm good naturedly.

"I take it you don't like flying?" When she shook her head, he leaned over her and closed the window. "That should help a little, though I'm rather surprised that this bothers you. Considering the things we've all been dealing with lately, flying in an airplane across the ocean doesn't seem dangerous."

"Have you ever flown before?" Anna inquired, then added, "I mean, aside from the battle city finals and Kaiba's helicopter?"

"No. I've never been in a jet of this sort. Well, not that I can recall anyway. I couldn't see the outside world before Yugi put the sennen puzzle together so this is the first time I've been able to actually experience being in an air vessel such as this." He waved a hand absently at the interior of the plane. "So far I haven't found it to be too troublesome." Anna leaned her head back with a small sigh.

"I just don't like not being on the ground I guess… Especially since we're in the middle of a huge ocean, and we're so high up in the sky that if something went wrong we'd be doomed."

"Try thinking of something else, Anna. Instead of focusing on what could go wrong with a flight, focus on where we're going. Think on a plan of attack, we _are_ going to have to do battle in a way at some point in this journey after we speak to Pegasus, I'm sure."

"So…You want me to distract myself by strategizing?"

"Exactly."

"How much longer are we stuck on the plane?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question my friend?"

…... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Seto Kaiba scowled at his cell phone for a moment before rolling his eyes. If Anna had bothered contacting him properly, she would have known that he'd already been on his way to the U.S, and was currently in his office at the KaibaCorp U.S branch, he'd been yelling at reporters all morning since he'd arrived and was getting sick of their stupidity. He'd be feeling better if Anna was there with him, not that he'd ever admit it, as she always had the right thing to say when company matters were getting to him. That and she always made him the best coffee. The fact that she wasn't a complete moron helped too of course, well, except for right now. He'd be collecting the little runaway soon. The door to the office flew open, startling the frustrated CEO as his brother came running in.

"Big brother, you have to take a look at our database! Someone is buying up a lot of shares in KaibaCorp and their still going!" Kaiba flipped open his laptop and swiftly entered a password, the screen lit up with a colorful diagram and he cursed under his breath. Mokuba was right, someone obviously wanted his attention.

"There is only one person I know that is capable of something like this." _If they take much more, they could take control of the company…which is something I can not allow._ A dark scowl crossed his features when the phone rang, he nearly growled after answering it as a familiar voice chirped in his ear.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba, did you get my message?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing Pegasus?"

"Come now, it was just a hello. Didn't you like it?"

"This is _my_ company, I'd never let a snake like you wrap your way around it! If you think I'm just going to sit back while you-"

"Oh, you misunderstand me. I don't want your company, I merely needed the upper hand so I could force you to do something I want. Since both our reputations are at stake, I figured we could boost our public image by dueling each other!" Kaiba could almost hear the self righteous bastard's stupid grin, he wanted to rip it off.

"You're out of your mind." Pegasus tisked,

"Now, if you don't do this I can easily sell off all of my newly acquired KaibaCorp stocks and the price will nose dive. You really have no choice but to accept unless you want to lose your company." Kaiba angrily slammed his fist down against his desk.

"Fine, but I won't forget this."

"I've set up a dueling arena at duelist kingdom, for old time's sake. See you soon!" With that, the dial tone was heard. Kaiba slammed his phone down and stormed off to prepare, his foul mood only getting worse, the only thing that made him feel slightly better was the small pit stop he'd be making before heading to duelist kingdom. That girl… If she pulled a stunt like this again he'd be taking measures to keep her with him at all times… Perhaps he'd hand cuff her to his little brother. Said little brother quietly followed him, wondering what was going through his mind at the moment.

…... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Yeah, I keep doing random time and place jumps… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Anna sighed in relief as she finally got off the plane, it had been hours and she was so thankful to be back on the ground she could have kissed it. After the gang got their luggage they headed over to a waiting limo, Anna ended up sitting between Jou and Anzu, the others sitting across from them. She took the phone from her pocket and turned it back on, staring at it as it beeped, telling her she had messages. Twelve missed calls and seven texts, she read in shock. _Holy crap Seto…_ She read through the messages, wincing as she did so.

Anna. What do you think your doing?

Woman, this could be considered job abandonment. I could fire you in an instant and then where would you be?

Then…

Call me. Immediately. Or you're fired.

When I catch up to you, I'm chaining you to your charge.

They were all about the same, getting vaguely more threatening as she read on. she frowned before speed dialing her boss and…well, what was he exactly to her? Associate? Friend? She wasn't even sure what their actual relationship was. Sometimes she swore he _liked_ her, or at least the odd steamy glance when he thought she wasn't looking and his apparent reaction to her being stuck in the shadow realm told her he felt _something_ more than an employment based relationship… Other times he was so cold she thought she'd been hallucinating his kinder moments… And what the hell did that last message mean? He answered in the first ring.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Well, that's a lovely way to greet someone…

"I went with Yugi and the others to America. You know, to save the world and all that?"

"I know _that_, I would like to know where you got the idea that I would be ok with it." Anna winced,

"Um…"

"Did it not occur to you that I would be heading over there too?"

"No?"

"Where are you?"

"Um…San Francisco?"

"I'm coming to get you." Anna's eyes grew wide,

"Wait, you're what?"

"I don't repeat myself. I'm assuming you're in a vehicle?"

"I…Yes."

"Get out at the nearest gas station. I'll meet you there."

"Wait, how exactly will you know where I am?"

"I'm tracking you."

"Tracking…" Anna thought about it for a minute. "You put a _tracking device_ on me?" Her face flushed in anger.

"It's for your own good, and no. I won't tell you where it is."

"Ever heard of something called human rights Mr. Kaiba? Privacy?" He hung up, Anna glared at her phone, then shoved it back into her pocket, steaming. She noticed the others were all staring at her with varying degrees of surprise, her face heated as a delicate blush appeared across her nose.

"What?"

"So…Kaiba put a tracking device on you?" Anzu piped up,

"Apparently." Anna responded dryly.

"Yeah…I could see him doing something like that, since you're supposed to watch Mokuba…and Mokuba certainly gets kidnapped a lot."

"Then why didn't he just put one on his brother." The other girl shrugged, at a loss as Anna proceeded to try to figure out how and when he'd managed to put something like that on her body somewhere. Perhaps it was on her shoes? No… She wasn't always wearing those…She didn't wear a lot of jewelry…

"I suddenly feel like I was abducted by aliens or something…" Maybe while she was sleeping? She did live in his house…

"So, what does he want?" Yugi asked, as Anna glared down at her lap, startling her from her thoughts, she ran a hand through her reddish curls and let out what sounded like an exasperated sigh.

"I have to get out and meet him at the next gas station." The car slowed to a stop and they peeked out the window. "Speaking of gas stations…" She muttered as they pulled up to one.

"So, are you going to do what he wants?" Jou asked, Anna nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll bump into you guys at some point. I figure he's pissed enough as it is, and at least this way I can keep you guys updated as to our whereabouts."

"Why would we-" Jou was cut off as he gaped in awe at the helicopter landing in the empty parking lot next to them, Anzu opened the door and Anna stepped out of the car with a grim expression on his face. She looked as though she was facing her doom…though, facing Seto Kaiba on a good day took some serious balls… So he was sort of… doom-ish…

"He never does anything halfway, does he…" She muttered before waving at the others and walking over to the now stationary helicopter. As she went to get in, a strong arm yanked her inside, slamming the door behind her, Anna blushed deeply as she realized she was laying across a certain CEO's lap, wrist still in his strong grip. She placed her free hand on one of his thighs and struggled to stand and move across him so that her ass wasn't in the window, it didn't work very well as she lost her balance and ended up straddling him. Her blush worsened as she realized the implications of such a mortifying position. She met his steely blue eyes and shivered, trying to yank her wrist out of his hand, desperately wanting to fly off the man's lap… Or disappear…That would be good too. Perhaps that was his revenge, was he going to embarrass her to death?

"Want to let me go? I'm sure we both want to get me off your lap Mr. Kaiba." The pilot of the helicopter flipped some switches and the noise of the propellers filled her ears as they lifted off. Gravity pressed her body further down against his lap and Anna was further mortified when she felt the heat of arousal fill her lower belly. _Oh good lord…_ She leaned down and put her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes tightly, stiffening when she felt his warm breath in her ear.

"I don't have to tell you how angry I am with you right now, do I?"

"N-No. I think I got the gist of it Mr. Kaiba."

"What have I told you about my name? Just call me Seto, since when did you revert back?" Okay, where the hell was the real Seto Kaiba, this one was starting to freak her out…

" Since you got all super pissed off… Can I get up yet? You're acting really odd."

"…" Seto Kaiba smirked, then pressed a button that sealed them off from the front of the helicopter, taking away the loud noise of the propellers and the prying eyes of his employees. "There's no room for you to sit anywhere else." He was enjoying the feeling of her warm body against his own, there was really no reason to let her move.

Anna leaned back and looked him in the eye, brow raised.

"That is the most blatant lie I've ever heard, it may work better if I couldn't _see._"

His hand left her wrist, but before she could stand, both hands landed on her thighs, pinning her down. She held back a small moan at the heat of his hands on her bare legs, just below where her shorts ended, she tried to focus on her anger.

"So why the hell did you put a tracking device on me?"

"I don't need to explain my reasons to the likes of you."

"You are such an arrogant asshole." Anna looked around, "Where's Mokie?"

"He stayed at the small airfield just north of the city with my jet."

"Oh… Where are we going?"

"I have to go deal with Pegasus."

"Ooookay…Um, why did you have such a problem with me being with the others that you felt the need to fly over to get me?"

"Hn."

"W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You ask far too many questions." He grumbled, Anna frowned. "Most of which are pointless."

"There's nothing wrong with-" She was cut off by his lips crashing down on her own in a heated kiss, causing her poor jet-lagged brain to completely short circuit. A gasp left her and he took advantage, his tongue searching her mouth as his large hands kneaded the skin of her thighs, fingers sliding up beneath the fabric of her shorts. Moments later, the kiss was ended as they both came up for air. Anna gasping for breath, face flushed prettily, eyes wide with shock. Seto found she made a lovely picture and resisted the urge to kiss her again, not even sure why he'd done it in the first place. He was Seto Kaiba, he didn't have time to be attracted to her… Oh who was he kidding, if anything it made for great stress relief. It wasn't like she _meant_ anything to him, right? He ignored the tiny voice in the back of his head that told him differently. She was just Mokuba's keeper.

"What the…What was that for?" She gasped out, mind still somewhat halted. _My god, he kissed me… The mighty Seto Kaiba does have hormones? Apparently Rain's invaded my thoughts… She'd totally say something like that. _He shrugged, amused by the glazed look in her eyes.

"Perhaps I just wanted you to stop asking so many questions. You were beginning to annoy me." Her heart cracking slightly, Anna gave him her best glare and managed to finally get herself off of his lap, flopping herself into the other seat before scowling out the window. He just shot her an evil little smirk and smoothed his clothes before proceeding to ignore her existence. _Figures, It meant nothing to him…_

"Jerk…" She mumbled, now more confused than ever as they headed to the air field. _That was mean…_ She didn't say another word to the elder Kaiba brother even after they got into his own private jet, only making conversation with Mokuba, who could see the tension between the two but said nothing, figuring they would sort themselves out eventually.

…... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...we'll be staying with Rain for the rest of the chapter. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Rain heaved a sigh as she signed off her name at the end of her shift, smiling over at Grandpa Mutou as she exited the game shop.

"Have a good one Mr. Mutou!"

" You too young lady! Thank you for the help with the last shipment, lord knows I couldn't have managed it without you!"

" It's what I'm here for!" She jogged out the door to find Ryo leaning against the wall outside waiting for her. "Oh, hey! I hope you haven't been here long!" He chuckled, pushing off the wall and walking beside her.

"It hasn't been too long. How was work?"

"Not bad. My back kind of hurts though…" She stretched, rolling her shoulders. "We got this big shipment of new games in and I did most of the lifting, it's been a while since I've done so much. I guess I should start working out, eh?" She said with a little laugh. They chatted a bit while Ryo guided her to the library, it wasn't as far as she'd thought it would be, only a few blocks really. "Huh…I'm surprised I never noticed this building was here…" It was certainly big enough not to miss, Ryo shrugged.

"Well, you never really had the need to go there."

"I suppose." They went inside, relishing in the buildings air conditioning as they strode towards the ancient history section. "Now, where would I find my Akefiankhenet… Lord I should have just stuck with Akefia… Much easier to spell I'm sure." She mumbled to herself as she grabbed three books on the pharonic line for the particular time period she needed. Ryo had gone searching in the next aisle while she sat down and started flipping though the books. There was some info on the nameless pharaoh, and she smiled when she found a brief notation of her son's rule being a time of peace for the people of Egypt. After all that had happened in the years before, the people certainly had needed some peace, her only regret was being unable to live to see it. A sigh escaped her and she leaned her head down on the cool desk top, she'd never been one for studying. _Should I look for the other information I came here for now? _She reached for one of the other volumes she'd grabbed that dealt with ancient rituals and religion, hoping there would be some mention of Zorc, though not holding her breath… She had a gut feeling none but the ancient books Malik's family had protected for years would have any mention of this particular demon. He was from a dark forgotten place in history…She flipped through the book, looking for any reference to exorcism or at least how to counteract dark magics but was coming up empty.

Ryo, meanwhile, was replaced by Bakura rather abruptly shortly after he'd gone into a promising looking section of books. The tomb robber looked around for a moment to get his bearings, before his eyes settled on the books in front of him. A small, very fleeting smile flitted across his face before he grabbed the book that the fates had obviously stuck right on front of him, flipping through it briefly. _So very ironic… That my child would rule the place that I once terrorized in the position of the man I loath._ He made his way quietly towards the small table Rain had claimed, he peered over her shoulder and stiffened. What was she reading? _Ancient cult practices and the dark side of religion in Egypt. _He read the title of the current chapter she was browsing, intrigued. _Did she just get sidetracked? No… Nothing could sidetrack her from learning about her own son, I could tell that from to look in her eyes when she speaks of him. So…Why read such material? Perhaps to learn more of her power… Our power's origin? _He watched her for another moment before deciding to keep an eye on her future activities. _I won't let her know I've seen this…Other research. Not until I know what exactly she's doing… One can never be too cautious after all. Rain, if whatever you're doing gets in the way of my plans, I swear you will pay dearly. _He carefully schooled his features before walking closer to her.

"Rain." Bakura's gruff voice made her sit up straight with a tiny gasp, knocking a small stack of books to the floor, including the one she'd been flipping through moments before. _Oh my god…Way to make him suspicious Rain… smooth… Hopefully he just thinks I'm a big klutz and I won't be facing a pissed off demon from hell._ She stared at him for a moment while he raise a brow and looked at the small mess on the floor,

"Jumpy today, aren't we?" Heaving a sigh, Rain glared at him before leaning down and retrieving the books from the floor, placing them in a neat stack on the table before her eyes were suddenly drawn to a large volume in his now outstretched hand. _Apparently I'm going to have to come back later on my own if I want to get anything else done._ She took what he offered with a questioning glance, watching as he crossed his arms and stared at her expectantly. "He lived a long life." At that her eyes widened and flew down to the book she was now holding. _Great Pharaohs of Egypt, a series. Akefiankhenet and his reign of prosperity. Oh Gods. Obviously Zorc hasn't caught on to my plans… This is definitely all Bakura… Heh, I wish I had a way to record moments like this… The mighty thief king actually can be kind of sweet! Lately more so actually…hmmm…_

"Thank you Bakura." He frowned,

"Well, lets read then woman!" Bakura snapped, _Yeah… He's still an ass…_ Rain nodded and flipped the book open.

"Akefiankhenet ruled Egypt approximately three thousand years ago, his reign lasting for nears sixty years, more if one includes his childhood. His mother, Princess Rayana disappeared when he was born, scholars figure she died in childbirth, her last known decree being that one of the head priests rule in place of her son as regent until he was old enough to take full control of the throne himself. This particular pharaoh is an oddity in several ways, one of which being his father was never mentioned, which is highly unusual. We can only assume it was another in the royal house, but unless evidence is found we will never know." Rain smiled slightly when she heard Bakura growl under his breath before continuing. "His appearance and mannerisms have entertained scholars for years, he's portrayed as a handsome man with silver hair and blue eyes which is a very interesting combination. He had many children and many wives, his harem rivaling some of the largest known of the ancient world." Rain scowled when Bakura barked out a laugh.

"Hah! Good man!"

"I can't believe Set let him do that…"

"He was pharaoh Rain, he could do what he wanted. Obviously, he wanted to do women." Rain went to elbow him but he was too swift for her. She rolled her eyes,

"Well…apparently we have a gazillion descendents because our only son decided to double the world's population single handedly… Anyway…" She continued reading, " From some of his own writings we have learned that this pharaoh cared deeply for his kingdom, had an obvious sense of humor, a penchant for mischief and preferred to be called Akefia, rather than his full name, as some people do today. This is more than we learn of most ancient kings, but this one was kind enough to leave a treasure trove of papyri letters to various people behind. What we find most curious is the small box of them found in his tomb, untouched by grave robbers. These were letters from him, to his dead mother and we can only assume it was his way of feeling a connection with the part of his family he never…knew… " Rain burst into tears, hugging the book to her chest. Bakura laid a hand on her shoulder, his own heart giving a slight squeeze, he hated it when she cried.

"He obviously did well throughout his life Rain." Rain knew he was rather uncomfortable due to her tears, so she forced them back and stood up.

"I…I know it was another life, he's only my son of my soul… but… I'm sad because I never knew him. I can only read about him and hope he was happy." She smiled a somewhat watery smile, "Does Ryo have a library card? I…want to read more…" Bakura fished out Ryo's wallet and pulled out a card, taking the book out of Rain's hands and proceeding to go to the front and sign it out for her. After they got outside and started strolling back towards the boat she broke the silence that had settled over the two.

"I wonder which museum has those letters…"

"We can find out if you like."

"Hm… I want to read them."

"Are you happy to know more?" Rain glanced at him,

"I…Yes. I'm glad to know he lived a long life, and that he did well for Ke- er, Egypt."

"Did you almost say Kemet?"

"Um, yeah."

"I haven't heard that word in a long time."

"Yeah, well…That's what our home is called, even if it's Egypt now it will always be Kemet to those of us that remember."

"Have you remembered any more of your past Rain?"

"Yeah, bits and pieces… I know there's more big stuff I should be remembering, but I know some of the memories are going to be pretty horrible and…" She cut herself off.

"And what?"

" Well, I think a part of me is scared to remember."

"I never took you for a coward Rain." The girl stopped walking and glared. _Did he really just say what I thought he said?_

"Excuse me?" The tomb robber's eyes narrowed as he stopped and looked over his shoulder to meet her fiery gaze.

"You heard me woman."

"I am NOT a coward, asshole." He strode back towards her, gripping her shoulders. She jolted slightly. _Why in all the hells is he so angry about this?_

"If you're going to fear something, at least be afraid of something that can actually harm you! Not something so silly and insubstantial."

"It's not silly! I would rather face a man eater bug than some of the things I'm forced to remember! Some of the images that flit through my mind…" He snorted, much to her irritation.

"You do know that could be arranged. I can't believe that someone who claims to love ME of all people, is afraid of her own memories."

"You're such an arrogant smart ass!"

"And you're afraid of a memory, of all the foolish things."

"I…You don't understand!" A haunted expression flitted across his face, a dark look taking over his features.

"I understand more than you could ever know." Rain winced internally at his tone. He continued. "You need to remember that the past has already occurred, remembering what happened won't cause you any more harm than it already has. If anything, you can take strength from past trials." Rain wrapped her arms around him and leaned her forehead against his chest. _Since when was he so wise…_ Still…

"… Memories can hurt." She whispered. "Sometimes they are best left forgotten." _Though… I guess I should keep in mind that despite the hell I may have gone through at any point in the past, there will always be someone who has dealt with worse and survived… I wish I could have helped you back then Bakura…A child should never have to go through what you did…_

"Are you…crying again, Rain?" She held him tighter, much to his surprise.

"…Sorry." She mumbled, tears falling from her eyes. "I- I'm getting your shirt wet…" He rolled his eyes, before coming up with a good way to get her to stop crying without being all…mushy… A tiny smirk wound up on his lips.

"We should head back to the keeper's boat. You're obviously tired and over emotional, we don't want it to get worse now, do we?" Rain flinched. Tears drying, she backed away from him and stormed ahead.

"You… Ugh… Sometimes I hate you tomb robber!"

His smirk grew as he followed behind her. _Perfect._

…

So, what did you think? There are so many things I want to do with this story, I don't even know how I'm going to incorporate it all.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey, I know, a few weeks turned into forever, but its hard to write at the moment, I've been insanely busy. Here's another chapter ^^

Chapter 18:

Anna grumbled to herself as she followed Seto and Mokuba through Pegasus' castle….lair… place. She was still confused about the whole kiss ordeal with the elder Kaiba and didn't really feel like being around him at the moment, not that she had the choice to stay on the jet as he'd forbidden it. She was so consumed by her thoughts that she ran right into Seto's outstretched arm without realizing that both the Kaiba brothers had come to a stop.

"Anna, for the love of all that's holy pay attention to your surroundings!" Anna was taken aback for a moment at the pure anger in his voice, then she finally looked in front of them and gasped. There was no floor in the room ahead of them! Mokuba clung to her with teary eyes.

"If it wasn't for big brother, you would have fallen!" She rubbed the boy's back soothingly, trembling slightly herself.

"It's ok Mokie… I'll pay attention now, I'm just glad Seto stopped me." He nodded, glaring downwards. Seto scowled across the room, having run out of patience.

"Pegasus, show yourself!"

Just then, Pegasus appeared, laughing in his obnoxious way.

"Oh come now, Kaiba boy. Where's the love? We've been through so much together!" Anna made a gagging motion, to which Mokuba couldn't help but giggle quietly, Seto shot them a look before turning back to Pegasus.

"I didn't come to chat, I came to duel you so you'll get the hell out of my life!"

"Oh, what ever did I do to deserve such hostility!"

"You're obviously behind this big monster scare. You've caused me a lot of grief, and that's only recently." Pegasus made a face,

"Even you must admit that maybe these monsters are real. No hologram could do what they have been doing."

"I've said this a million times! I don't believe in any of that magic hocus pocus crap, and I definitely don't believe in real monsters!"

"Gods, he's the skeptic of all skeptics…" Anna mumbled to herself. _If he doesn't believe in any of it, then how the heck does he explain Rain and I? Oh well, at least I didn't end up liking a complete nutcase with magic powers. I'd rather the infuriating skeptic to that._

After more bantering crossed the room a few more times, Anna stopped really paying attention. It took forever, but finally the dueling arena lifted up from the big hole in the floor and both men got their decks ready. Pegasus used his usual toon creatures, which Anna had always found really creepy. Things weren't really that interesting until Kaiba realized his opponent wasn't really Pegasus. The guy he was really dueling was named Amelda and in reality was one of Dartz' goons. Anna had seen it coming, apparently she didn't look surprised enough because he noticed.

"Hey girl! You almost look like you were expecting this!" Anna raised a brow,

"Yeah, so what?" He frowned,

" Who are you?" Anna crossed her arms,

" Nobody interesting, shouldn't you be dueling? I mean, you've been kind of ignoring your opponent for a few minutes now." The red haired duelist smirked at her,

"I have an interesting feeling about you, girl. We'll have to chat once I'm done wiping the floor with Kaiba."

"In your dreams buddy." Anna glared at him, "Kaiba will be the one wiping the floor with _you_."

"As nice as it is to listen to this conversation, I believe you have a duel to lose." Seto growled, Amelda nodded.

"I play the seal of orechalcos." Anna grabbed Mokuba and backed up, but wasn't fast enough as the seal expanded and knocked both of them over. Mokuba shot off of her and began banging his fists against the magical barrier.

"Big brother!" Anna got up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be ok, calm down Mokuba." The boy nodded and Anna resigned herself to watching the duel, hoping that Amelda guy wouldn't talk to her anymore.

… … … … … … … … ^^… … back in Japan… Also a bit of a time warp.

Rain looked at her phone, wondering when anyone would be calling her with any updates to the situation in America. She hadn't been able to go to the library alone yet, though it had only been two days since she'd gone the first time. It seemed like Bakura would keep popping up whenever she was going anywhere but work. It was almost like he knew something was up, but she had been so careful… And even if he did have it figured out she had no choice but to press forward regardless. She had to save _both_ their immortal souls after all. She sighed, lifted herself off the chair she'd been lounging on and steering herself to the door. She was pretty sure Ryo had said he'd be out all evening dealing with stuff at the apartment so this was a prime time to meet up with Malik to at least look through the books he had that were still in the city. She found her way away from the docks and called the number Malik had given her, he answered on the second ring.

" Rain?"

"Hey Malik. Can we meet about those books? I finally got away from Bakura but I don't know how long that may last."

"Yeah, can you be at the museum in half an hour?"

"I'll be there. Already walking."

"You're walking? Want me to come get you then?"

"Nah, the exercise will do me good."

"Seriously? Ok then. You just don't want to ride my motorcycle."

"Hey, that's got nothing to do with it!"

"Ok, well, I'll be taking you back to the boat when you're done."

"Fine then. Anyway, I'll be at the museum soon." Rain hung up and shoved the phone in her pocket only for it to start ringing moments later. She sighed and answered it without looking at the caller Id.

"Hello."

"Rain!"

"Oh, it's about time you called me with an update Anna! What's been going on?"

"Well, so far Kaiba kidnapped me from the group, then he dueled the fake Pegasus who was really Amelda. After that we went to go find the real Pegasus but when we got to Industrial Illusions we just found the rest of the gang, who had just had to deal with Mai. She didn't manage to take Jou's soul but it definitely rattled everyone. We found a hologram of Pegasus who told us about the Doma group's influences on history. It was interesting, to say the least. Though you probably would have been more interested in that little history lesson than I was. He told us that he'd learned that duel monsters has been around a lot longer than anyone thought. He went on to tell us that Doma is acting again and is trying to resurrect the most terrifying beast that has ever existed, though he wasn't quite sure yet. You know, the whole you are the only people that can save the world thing."

"Okay. Kaiba kidnapped you?" Rain smirked, "He was mad you went with the others, wasn't he."

"Uh… Yeah. He was pretty pissed. He hauled me into his helicopter…"

"Uh huh… I sense you're leaving something out."

"N-No!"

"What else happened between you two?"

"Uh…He kinda kissed me… but it didn't mean anything! I mean, he just wanted me to shut up, that's all." Rain could see the museum, she strode past the big clock in the park nearby and chuckled at her friend.

"One doesn't kiss someone just to shut them up. At the very least he's attracted to you, and is likely very much in denial. It _is _Seto Kaiba after all, the walking popsicle."

"Can we change the subject? I don't want to think about it right now."

"Ok, aside from Kaiba secretly wanting to get into your pants, and a bunch of stuff that we already knew was supposed to happen, is there anything else?"

"He doesn't… Ugh… Rain, you're such a pain sometimes."

"You know you love me."

"Jou and Yugi realized they need to team up with Kaiba to defeat Doma, but he refused saying he doesn't do teamwork and is in charge of his own destiny."

"Hah, that's classic Kaiba for you though, he is the king of denial."

"Uh huh. Well, we took off in the blue eyes jet, and I'm not sure what the others are up to now. We're staying at a hotel right now."

" Ah, well, I just got to the museum, I'm meeting Malik here so I'll talk to you later."

"Ah, alright. Later."

Rain hung up as she entered the museum, smiling as Malik came to greet her.

"Hey, you ready?"

"Yeah." She took the name tag he offered her before following him into the back storage area. They both put on rubber gloves for handling artifacts and went to the room were the scrolls and books were stored.

"So, what are we looking for?" Rain met his curious violet eyes,

"Anything about dark magic, or demonic possession, dark pacts."

"Alright, so anything about extremely evil stuff."

"Basically." They worked in silence for a few minutes, Malik handing her books and looking through some himself. As Rain pored over a promising chant for capturing dark energies a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, there's a specific book I may need to find if we don't find what we are looking for here."

"Hm, a specific one?"

"Yeah." She bit her lip, part of her not wanting to tell him what she wanted to find…well, find and later destroy so no one else would be able to use it. "Um, it's the sennen spell book."

"That book is a myth." Malik said quickly, Rain rolled her eyes.

"No, it's where the spell to create the sennen items came from. Surely you don't think they just popped out of thin air. That was the only spell the pharaohs court was able to translate but I think the spell I need is somewhere in the rest of that particular book."

"I don't even know where we would begin looking. It would have to be in Egypt, but the book has never been found. Not to mention how dangerous the book itself was rumored to be."

"It is quite dangerous… But that book may be my only hope. You should ask your sister if she knows anything about it. I'm assuming that the tomb keepers may have it, even if you don't know about it. The only reason I believe this is because after the creation of the items I think it was still in the pharaoh's possession. Unless it was left in Kul Elna, but I doubt that."

"Kul Elna?" Rain flushed,

"The um… The site where the items were forged."

"How exactly do you know so much about the actual creation of the items?"

"My visions and the other realm."

"You wouldn't see it in a vision because you wouldn't have been born yet, and you speak of it as though this place gives you great sadness. You can see it in your eyes Rain, this whole subject bothers you." She gave him a look.

"I was a baby at the time actually." She sighed, "But yeah, this subject makes me sad. The creation of the items is a touchy subject as it has been the cause of a lot of horrible things. It was a dark ritual that made them. And their creation brought forth a demon by the name of Zorc Necrophades. He's pretty close to being the devil spoken of in Christianity. Pure evil."

"Can you tell me what the ceremony entailed? Why do you need the book?" A small smile crossed Rain's lips.

"I thought I told you I wouldn't be burdening you with my problems."

"You don't have to tell me everything."

"Hm… I won't. But I'll tell you a little I guess, I can tell you about the creation of the sennen items, even though when I'm done you'll want me to take it back." Rain sat back in her chair, closing the book she'd been leafing through. "The country of Kemet was at war with neighboring nations because they wanted the book the pharaoh's had in their possession for millenia, it was so old that no one could read the language anymore. At the darkest of times, one of the pharaoh's high priests begged to translate and use the book to win the war and pharaoh agreed. They managed to translate only one spell. The one that could create seven items of power, the high priest got the pharaoh to agree to create them but had with held the details of the spell knowing that the pharaoh would never agree to it normally. This spell took seven days and ninety nine sacrifices to complete." Malik gasped,

"So Kul Elna…"

"Yes. They chose a town on the edge of their borders, one they figured they could get away with destroying as it was a town of thieves and criminals. It was home about a hundred people and it was decreed by the high priest that there would be no survivors, not even the men from the army that they took to assist them. No one was to know what had happened to that town." Rain took a breath, closing her eyes, "They used the bodies and souls of ninety nine people to create the sennen items, and as they did so, other men burnt down the huts and slaughtered anything and anyone they could find. Then in the final act of brutality, the high priest killed the pharaoh's men before taking the items back to the kingdom. They did not realize that there was one survivor, a small child who witnessed the whole thing. That child would grow up to make a pact with a demon, and become the kingdom's worst nightmare."

"You… You mean the spirit of the ring is…"

"Yes. I'll warn you now, never let on that I told you this story. In this world, you are one of less than a handful of people who know what happened to his home, the reason behind his hatred." Malik rubbed the bridge of his nose, standing up to pace the room.

" You said he made a pact with this demon."

"Yes, it resides in his soul."

"You want to get rid of it?"

" Yes. Because if I don't, this quest of his is going to get him killed and every time I try to talk him out of taking revenge, Zorc gets mad and surfaces then tries to harm me."

"You know, I feel bad for Ryo. He's possessed by an evil spirit who is also possessed by a demon."

"I know. I hope to somehow make it all okay. I can only start with defeating Zorc. And to fight Zorc, or at least get him out of my boyfriend, I need a spell to capture or destroy him." Malik nodded slowly.

"I see." He placed a hand on her shoulder, " I guess we'd better get back to work then Rain, lets just start with looking through all these books before we go looking for that evil tome of yours." She nodded and grabbed another book, ready to pick her way through it.

Rain nearly dropped the book a few moments later as her vision suddenly went black, she gasped when a sharp, tearing emotional pain which was not her own seemed to lance through her chest. She was overcome with anger and grief for a brief moment in time, and she could have swore she felt the pharaoh's soul cry out to her. Malik gripped her shoulder, concerned as she cried out.

"Holy…Shit…" She panted, suddenly weary as her vision came back, the room swayed as she tried to stand, Malik pushed her back down gently.

"Rain, are you ok? What happened?"

"Sorry Malik… I think Yugi's soul was just stolen."

His eyes widened in shock, "What? How do you know?"

"I… somehow… Felt my brother's pain. Nothing else could have caused him to cry out in such a way. It was like… Extreme empathy. I have no idea how he did it, but I think his soul just literally touched mine. They were dueling someone, and he lost."

"How? Since when did you two have such a bond?"

"I… I don't know. I'm pretty sure it was his own power, enhanced by the puzzle, that enabled him to emit… Whatever he hit me with. I don't even know if he realizes what he did. I'm guessing he'll be calling me soon, in a less painful method… If not, I'll call him because he obviously needs my support."

"This is bad." Malik went back to pacing the room, "You are certain the pharaoh lost?"

"Yes. I knew this duel was going to happen, I just didn't know when…Nor did I know that it would affect me like it did. It's ok, He will get Yugi back, it's just a matter of time." Rain glanced at the clock on the wall. "I have to get back to the boat before Bakura gets there, with my luck he won't be back yet." Malik nodded and they left the museum, Rain climbed onto his motorcycle behind him, he grinned back at her before taking off. They were at the docks five minutes later, Rain had her face buried in his shoulder, hands clenched in his jacket.

"Um, We're here Rain." He helped a rather pale Rain off the bike, she shot him a dirty look. "Malik, so help me god, if you ever drive like that again while I'm on that bike I will beat you within an inch of your life!" He chuckled,

"Oh, don't be such a baby. You liked it."

"Yeah, sure." Rain rolled her eyes as he took off again, promising to call the next day. It was 8pm, hopefully Ryo was still doing stuff at the apartment. She slowly strolled towards the boat, whipping out her phone and calling Anna's number.

"Hey Anna, something happened to the Pharaoh, I think Yugi's soul was taken."

"What? How do you know?" Rain proceeded to explain what happened when she'd been at the museum, there was silence on the other end for a moment.

"How is it all this weird shit seems to happen to you? I mean really, now you suddenly have a weird empathic bond with Yami?"

"I know."

"Jeez, I mean, we're connected, you've got some weird soul bond with the tomb robber, you're brother just projected his emotions halfway across the world to you… You experience way too much weird shit. I'm wondering what the point of me being here is, I mean, Apparently I'm supposed to protect your heart, but how? And from what exactly? You have the wicked magical powers, so you seem pretty good at protecting yourself. Why was I even sucked in with you? Hell… Why did I die with you in the past?" Rain winced,

"What exactly brought this on?"

"I'm sorry…I think I've just been frustrated." Anna sounded shocked at her own little outburst.

"I suppose you make a lot of sense… Though… Magical powers that I still would rather not use unless I have to because I have control issues, they really aren't that great. You're there for me. You're my best friend, and you've been there for two life times helping me through the hell I've had to deal with. You gave your life to stay with me, and even if we don't know or remember your true purpose, I don't think I would be able to deal with any of this stuff that's been happening to me without you. So Anna, you are definitely not useless, and I have a feeling we'll learn what you're here to do soon enough. And that whole thing about protecting me, well, it really doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize from what. I mean, the demon that is taking up residence in my soul mate's essence that wants to kill me would be a good guess. And loving Bakura is hard on my heart, I'll need to lean on you when we have to face him in the final game of his, just in case I fail and he does end up dying."

"Don't even talk like that Rain."

"Sorry, it's true though." Rain glanced at the boat as she strode across the dock and her heart plummeted down to her toes when she noticed the thief king leaning against the railing looking down on her with an unreadable expression on his face. "Um, Anna I have to go."

"Are you alright? You sound alarmed."

"I-I'm fine. I have to go, I'll call you later." Rain hung up before her friend could answer. Her hands trembled as she climbed up onto the deck where Bakura was waiting for her. He just stared at her for a moment.

"So, where did you disappear off to?"

"I just needed some air, walked down to the museum." His eyes darkened ever so slightly before he shoved her bodily against the door to the cabin.

"Then why was the tomb keeper driving you home?" He purred in her ear,

"Because he was at the museum and didn't want me walking home by myself." Rain gasped as his hands left her arms to trail down her ribs. He smirked against her ear as he felt her tremble.

"You could have told Ryo you were going out, could have called so we knew where you went. How do I know you aren't lying to me. You've been spending an awful lot of time with Malik." His teeth grazed her earlobe.

"Y-You just have to trust me, Bakura."

"Trust is very hard to come by these days. You have been trying to get away from me ever since I took you as my own, and I would dearly like to know why." Shadows seemed to swirl around them as he spoke, "I'm sure a little visit to the shadow realm would loosen your tongue." Rain tried to escape his grip, then gave up and collapsed against him. _Wow…Jealous much?_

"Damn it Bakura, I'm telling the truth. I was at the museum, and yes, I hung out with Malik while I was there. Hell, you can look over the security tapes if you want. I did nothing wrong that would warrant this behavior from you!"

"Hmph." The shadows faded away, "If I ever find out you're lying, there will be hell to pay." Rain nodded, looking him in the eye,

"I don't doubt it." She whispered back. His mouth covered hers in a possessive kiss as he crushed her body to his own. She had a feeling this was going to be a long night, his jealousy obviously fueling him to reaffirm their relationship. Not that she minded, as long as he didn't find out her plans she was happy. She only hoped that in the end, he would understand that everything she did was for him. She succumbed to him as he fumbled to open the door behind them, pushed through it then slamming it closed as they got inside, it didn't take him long to remove her clothing and his own, She forgot about all her problems, the current threat to the world, everything, as he laid her in the bed and swiftly entered her in one thrust, she gripped his shoulders tightly and thanked the gods that he gave her a moment to adjust to the intrusion before he continued and she lost herself to the sensations of him loving her fiercely.

After hours of making love, when they were both completely spent Bakura brushed his lips lightly against her own. His dark eyes intense.

"You are mine, Rain. You've always been mine." Rain sighed, wondering if that was his own way of being sentimental. Wondering what brought on this sudden bout if jealousy that had him acting this way. She stroked his hair as he laid beside her, holding her close as though he was afraid she'd float away. Perhaps he was worried that she would leave one day, as he had been alone so long it had probably increased his paranoia.

"I know Bakura. I will always be yours."

And there it is. Another chapter. -sigh- I finally know where I'm going with this, have the plot all planned out and everything. Anyway, I don't think that little scene even qualifies as a lemon. So I didn't bother with a warning. Anyway, hope you guys like it! -gives out tasty candy- Thanks to all who review, you keep me going J


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